176
"HERE" AND "THERE" AS DETERMINANTSOF VISUALLY GUIDED GESTURES. SOMEEVIDENCE IN NORMAL AND BRAIN DAMAGEDSUBJECTS BROUCHON, M., JOANETTE, Y. AND PONCET, M. Laboratoire de Neuropsychologie Humaine, E.H.E.S.S., La Vieille-Charit~, 13002 Marseille et D~partement de Neuropsychologie, CHU-La Timone 13005 Marseille, France During the last decade a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying v i s u a l l y guided movements has occured. I t gave rise to a descriptive model which assumes a clearly defined sequential organization: a f i r s t phase corresponding to the limb's transport to the object, completed by a second phase corresponding to the object manipulation. The f i r s t phase can i t s e l f be viewed as comprising two sequential components: f i r s t ,
(a) a pre-programmed projection of the arm to-
wards the object which is achieved through a feedforward system activating peripheralvision, followed by (b) a f i n a l adjustment permitting the hand to make contact with the object, which is achieved through a feedbackward mechanism guided by central vision. In this work, i t is assumed that, given i n t e g r i t y of the previously referred to mechanisms involved in v i s u a l l y guided movements, there s t i l l can be d i f f e r ences in visuo-motor behavior according to the sector of space - or " f i e l d " in which the stimulus is located. For instance, in "normal" subjects, the preprogrammed component of the f i r s t phase - corresponding to the arm projection towards the target - provides different systematic errors i f the target is located in the "prehension" rather than the "locomotory" f i e l d , even i f i t is realized through similar movements. Such a distinction between "prehension" and "Iocomotory" f i e l d s becomes even more drastic in brain-damaged subjects with parietal lesions. When submitted to a task of manual pointing at targets located in the "prehension" f i e l d , they show major impairments of the movements' temporo-spatial
coordinates. On the contrary, the pointing performances of the
same brain-damaged subjects, in a similar task, remain unaffected i f targets are located in the locomotory f i e l d . These facts suggest that two similar movements can be executed in reference to different central representations of space Thus, the ultimate goal of a v i s u a l l y guided movement - reaching in prehension f i e l d versus indicating in locomotory f i e l d - could determine the gesture by itself.