Observation and modelling of executive processes and associated dysfunction in ageing and dementia during the performance of daily activities. Study for cognitive assistance systems design

In order to assist patients who are loosing their autonomy, smart homes and cognitive assistance systems have to be based on a good knowledge of people's disorders and on the difficulties they are likely to encounter in daily life. The specific objective of this PhD is to observe executive processes involved in the completion of daily activities and their impairment during ageing and dementia of the Alzheimer's type, and then to design both theoretical and computational models which are able to generate the observed behaviours. An observation and a qualification phase, allowing to observe executive control processes (action regulation, correction and adaptation when unexpected situations occur) have been first realized, leading to the specification of a theoretical model based on the Norman and Shallice model. This theoretical model has then been implemented to obtain a computational model, which allows the simulation of a specific activity of daily living.;Keywords. Cognitive modelling; executive processes; executive dysfunction; cognitive ageing; dementia of the Alzheimer's type; activities of daily living; assistive technology; smart homes.