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Biomedical subjects

H Montagner

Publications and source records attributed to H Montagner.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

[A new approach to the attachment process and the child functioning].

Following the introduction dealing with the scientific sources which influenced John Bowlby in his elaborating the theory of attachment, the present article relates some of the major advances Bowlby's theory gave rise to and facilitated in fundamental research, clinical practice and the drawing up of new concepts. The main part of the article is devoted to the concept of core-competency. Indeed, this concept permits to take into account in a combined manner individual development, processes of attachment, and behaviour adjustments, from birth throughout infancy. Core-competencies are organisational nuclei that allow every child to associate, combine, cluster and integrate various pieces of information of the surrounding world by making them compatible with his idiosyncrasies, be they innate or acquired as the days go by, be they biological or psychological. Five core-competencies have emerged from studies about mother-child interactions, from experimental research on the interactions between young children and from ethological observations of groups of children under controlled conditions: sustained visual attention, desire for interaction, affiliative behaviour, imitation and the structured organisation of gestures. The theory of attachment, the data of fundamental research, in particular those concerning core-competencies, and clinical observation lead to a new perspective for interpreting child constructions. The rooting of the child in a secure attachment, the non-thwarted genesis of his/her time organisation and of his/her bio-psychological rhythms, the possibilities given to him/her to appropriate space and its various dimensions, allow him/her to settle in affective security. Hence he/she can release his/her emotions and affects and make his/her core-competencies legible and functional. Conditions are then fulfilled for him/her to release his latent cognitive processes, master his/her cognitive acquisitions and structure his/her imagination.

Child Behavior↗
PubMed2002

Heart rate variations in five-month-old children during interactions in a controlled environment.

UNLABELLED: This paper reports the first data of a study on heart rate variations of 13 5-mo-old infants seated in special chairs. Their electrocardiograms and behaviour were continuously recorded during sessions that were set up with their mother and a mother-child dyad that they met for the first time when the first session was organized. The protocol comprised two interaction phases between the infants and their mothers and two with one another. The same pairs of mother-child dyads were studied a second time 1 wk later. During the first session, the infants' heart rate variability increased significantly from the mother-infant interaction phases to the infant-infant interaction phases. During the second session, the variability was higher during the mother-infant phases than in the corresponding phases of the first session. This could be linked to changes in the mothers' behaviour and the infants' idea and excitement of meeting the child from the first session again. However, the variability was significantly lower during the infant-infant phases than during the mother-infant phases and the corresponding infant-infant phases of the first session. This corresponds to the development of affiliative behaviours in the infants. CONCLUSION: When two 5-mo-old infants were seated by their mothers in special chairs, significant differences were observed in their heart rate variability when they became familiar with each other, whether they were interacting with their mothers or with one another.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1996

[Biological, behavioral and intellectual rhythms in pupils during the school-day].

We report in this paper the data separately collected for 15 years by the research teams of Montagner and Testu on the daily fluctuations of the periodical type and ultradian and circadian rhythms of biological, behavioural and mental variables which are or could be linked to or correlated with the fluctuations of intellectual activity in pupils throughout the school-day. The variables under study are the behaviours which are considered to be indicators of vigilance and non vigilance (arousal and drowsiness), corporal activation, heart rate, blood pressure, performances in tests of vigilance, targeted attention, spatial structuration and logical construction, and also in usual school tasks. Studies were carried out on different children populations at all ages (in this article we only report data on children attending primary school and partly kindergarten) in different French schools and, with regard to Testu's studies, several european schools in England, Germany and Spain. The main data collected by both teams are comparable in many respects: 1) the vigilance level and intellectual performances of pupils of all ages are weak or relatively weak at the beginning of the school activities, i.e. from 8 to 9 or 9:30 according to the studies and measured variables, as the biological constraints are not at a high level (heart rate and blood pressure); 2) the same items or patterns significantly increase throughout school time up to 11:30 or noon according to the studies with the exception of the 11:00-11:30 span in Montagner's research in children attending the first level of primary school, as the biological constraints decrease; 3) in most studies the vigilance level and intellectual performances are weak or relatively weak at the beginning of the school-time following the lunch, and the biological constraints are the strongest of the day (from 13:30 to 15:00) ; 4) the vigilance level and intellectual performances are always higher in the middle of the school-day (i.e. from 15:00 to 17:00) than at the beginning of the afternoon, and the biological constraints are weaker.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

New data on the ontogeny of the child's sleep-wake rhythm.

The present study is part of a broader body of research concerning the ontogeny and regulations of the young child's sleep-wake rhythm. It was carried out with 12 children admitted to a day-care center from 4 or 5 months of age. None of the children showed any anomalies or functional disorders. The method used in this study consisted in organizing a data collection on the alternations of wakefulness and sleep as well as on the children's behavior throughout the 24-h period, both in their family and at the day-care center from 4 to 15 months of age. The main findings are (a) the circadian rhythm of wakefulness and sleep is clearly set up as early as at 4 months of age and consolidates between 6 and 7 months; (b) some ages are characterized by significant changes in the daily distribution and duration of sleep spans: 6 to 7 months; 10 to 12 months; 13 to 15 months; (c) these changes suggest the existence of several ultradian rhythmicities which become successively prevailing from one age to the next throughout child development. The longitudinal study of the young child's sleep-wakefulness rhythm allows better evaluation of the influence of developmental factors in its structuralization and formulation of new hypotheses on its disorders and dysfunction. Individual factors are under study.

Activity Cycles↗
PubMed1993

[Emergence and development of competence in young children].

BACKGROUND: The childhood emergence and development of motor behavioural skills is imperfectly understood despite intensive study. This report is of the development of motor skills and social behaviour in young children. POPULATION AND METHODS: 17 infants (9 boys and 8 girls) in good health, aged 8 to 11 months at the beginning of the research, were studied. They were observed in groups of 6 for 30 minutes, in a special area fitted out with climbing structures, once every two weeks for one year. Their movements and behavior were filmed. RESULTS: 1) Motor skills which allow the "conquest" of climbing structures and complex social behaviors (multimodal interactions, imitations, cooperations, anticipations of behaviors) had developed by the time the children were 12 months old and were first examined. 2) From 12 to 14-15 months old, they consolidated these motor skills and the frequency of imitations and multimodal interactions increased markedly. 3) From 14 to 18 months old, they assumed the standing position more and more during ascents and descents and the frequency and diversity of imitations and cooperations increased sharply. 4) There was relatively little aggressive behavior at all ages. CONCLUSIONS: Motor skills and social behavior appear earlier and are more complex in children moving freely among their peers in a special setting than previously reported for developmental scales.

Aging↗
PubMed1993

[Interactive capacities of children aged 4 to 7 months with a child of the same age].

In this article we report on the first results of a research on the abilities and interactive behaviors of 16 infants aged from 4 to 7 months, with an infant of the same age. These infants are studied in dyads from the moment they are seated by their mother in two experimental seats. The position and distance of the seats are regulated at distance according to a procedure consisting in 8 phases of 3 minute duration each. The mothers of the two infants are present and can be seen by their child during the experimental session. The principal results can be summed up as follows: 1. The infant-partner is the first rank target of the gaze of the other infant. The frequency and duration of the orientations of the gaze in the direction of one or another of its body areas are significantly higher than the frequency and duration of the self-centered gazes (very weak) and the frequency and duration of the orientations of the gaze in other directions, including towards their mothers. These behaviors between the infants do not decrease in frequency or duration as long as the infants do not receive an object. 2. The face and hands of the infant-partner are the most frequent targets of the gaze; they also have the highest cumulated duration. The mutual catching of the eyes is also well represented, since this occupy the fifth place among the 25 items of behavior which were measured. 3. 4 of the 7 best represented items are the interactive behaviors with the other infant. 4. The manual behaviors already appear well organized, targetted, and visually controlled. In particular: the extension of the arm in the direction of the infant-partner, with the hand in pronation, lateral, oblique or in supination; the extension of the arm with a rotation of the hand from the pronation position to the supination position; taking the hand of the other infant. 5. Among the other complex behaviors one can observe diverse forms of imitation and modulated vocalizations which are rich in phonemes. 6. Most interactive behaviors are influenced by the human context (the different positions of the infants with regard to each other) and giving an object to each infant (last phase of the protocol). The infants appear, therefore, capable of taking into account most behaviors of the other infant in the organization of their own behaviors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Child Behavior↗
PubMed1993

Alternative child care in France: advances in the study of motor, interactive, and social behaviors of young children in settings allowing them to move freely in a group of peers.

This paper reports new data on the emergence and development from the 9th to 19th month of age of motor, interactive, and social behaviors of 17 children with peers in a milieu that allows the "conquest" of the third dimension of space without limitation of their motor activity. Their motor skills and social behaviors appear more precocious and complex than previously indicated by scientific publications, clinical observations, and developmental scales. 1. The motor skills that allow the "conquest" of climbing structures (ascents of a spiral staircase and a ramp) are already observed before the age of 12 months in some children (ascents of the ramp) or nearly half of them (ascents of the staircase). Complex social behaviors (multimodal interactions from here and there along a holed partition, imitations, cooperations, anticipation of the behavior of the partner) also emerge before 12 months. 2. The age range from 12 to 14 to 15 months is characterized by consolidation of the motor skills that allow the "conquest" of the third dimension of the space and a rapid increase of the imitations and interactions around the holed partition. 3. The age range from 14 to 18 months is characterized by diversification of the posturomotor patterns during ascents and descents of staircase and ramp and the growing predominance of the standing position. This is also a phase of significant increase in frequency of imitations and cooperations and of emergence of complex forms of cooperation. 4. Aggression is infrequent at all ages.

Child Day Care Centers↗
PubMed1992

[Fluctuations of biological rhythms, behavior and intellectual activity in children in different environments].

We report in this paper research data which deal with the fluctuations of biological, biopsychological and intellectual variables throughout the day and week in children and adolescents attending various educational establishments. The first chapter is devoted to the evolution of sleep-arousal alternations from the second year of life and to the relations between this evolution and behavioral and physiological variations during the day. It is divided into four parts: temporal evolution of the sleep-wake rhythm of children from 2 to 5 years of age, attending kindergarten; modifications observed in the behavior and biological rhythms of children from the last year of kindergarten to the first year of primary school; the high variability of biological rhythms from one child to another; modifications observed in intellectual performances of children attending primary and secondary school. The second chapter is devoted to the evolution of the duration of night sleep during childhood and the self-regulation phenomena that it reveals. The overall data lead to suggestions for organizing school schedules throughout the day and week.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

[A new method to study behavioral categories and systems of interaction of young children. Initial data].

In the first part of this paper we report on a new method we have developed for the study of the genesis and regulations of the behavior of infants in interactive situations. Detailed information is given on the following aspects: 1. The technical characteristics of the device that allows the infants to be seated in an upright position; 2. The different periods of the experimental procedure; 3. The method used for analyzing the behavioral data. As infants were video-taped without any interruption (real-time record), the behavioral data were analysed in two different ways: A. Macroscopic analyses were carried out using 84 items and 12 categories of behavior. These analyses allowed us to measure the temporal evolution of a limited set of easily recognized behaviors from one experimental period to the next and one experimental session to the next at one-week time intervals; B. Microscopic analyses were carried out with a special software program (THEME) using 222 items divided among 14 categories of behavior. This program was created by Magnusson. It allows the worker to search for significant patterns in sequential events which are recorded in real time, i.e. intra-individual behavioral structure as well as interindividual relationship (interaction). Information is given on the theoretical model and the pattern identification method. The first data can be thus summarized: 1. Four month old infants show a high level competence in their visual attention span in relation to each other; 2. They appear to have varied and complex behavior and interaction processes; 3. Each child has his or her own behavior dynamics throughout each experimental session and from one period to the next; 4. There are some special relationships between infant-infant interactions and the modalities of interaction between each infant and its mother; 5. Periodical behavioral "outbursts" are observed, which might in themselves constitute organizers of behavior; 6. It also makes clear the existence and structure of significant intra- and inter-individual behavioral patterns some of which are particularly complex (patterns are defined as significant connections between two items at least, within a critical time interval, calculated by THEME); 7. It reveals the function of these patterns in mutual adjustment processes between both infants throughout the experimental session.

Attention↗
PubMed1990

[The demonstration of communication behaviors in children with early psychoses].

The authors present a research project on the ways children suffering from early psychosis communicate non-verbally. These children are studied in their regular treatment center, using a behavioral method using a set of possibilities described for a normal young child. For the three children who were studied, rather different means of non-verbal communication were highlighted, which changed and were enriched when the adult taking care of them "improved" the way his interaction with the child was organized. Our findings raise questions concerning the semiology of these conditions and it's treatment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

[Daily and seasonal variations in olfactory sensitivity of mothers after parturition and their capacity to discriminate the body odor of their newborn. Preliminary findings].

The present study describes daily and seasonal variations in the discrimination capacities of mothers in relation to their newborn's odour and olfactory detection thresholds of a non specific molecule (thiophene) by mothers. The tests are carried out during the 2nd, 4th and 6th days after the parturition. The results show that the abilities of the mothers to discriminate the odours of their newborn increase gradually from the morning to evening, with the exception of the second part of the 4th day when the mother's performances decrease between 05:30 P.M. and 08:00 P.M. This daily variation is not observed in olfactory thresholds of mothers in relation to thiophene as they decrease between 08:00 A.M. and 01:30 P.M. and increase between 01:30 P.M. and 08:00 P.M. for the three days of test. Nevertheless, seasons, seem to have the same effect about the two types of mothers' performances. The results suggest that the variations in the abilities of the mothers to discriminate the corporal odour of their newborn and the variations of their olfactory thresholds for a non specific odour are based on different biological and psychobiological mechanisms.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The sleep/wake cycle in 4- to 14-month old children: general aspects and sex differences.

The sleep/wake cycle of 39 children, 4 to 14 months of age was observed and recorded continuously (24 h per day) over a 4-month period, one full week per month, from November 1986 through February 1987. Total sleep time per day was analyzed for the different age groups and for the two sexes. A decrease in total sleep time is shown as a function of increasing age for the whole population. Analyzing boys and girls separately, a differential effect on total sleep time was demonstrated, girls tending to sleep more after 10 months of age.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1988

Maternal tactile behaviour correlated with mother and newborn infant characteristics.

Filmed observations of spontaneous interactions between mothers and their newborn infants (N = 50) were used to quantify the occurrences, duration and frequency of maternal tactile behaviours (stroking, kissing, touching the clothes, etc.). The analysis of the data shows that these maternal behaviours vary from one mother to another according to the activities of the newborn infant (sleeping, arousal but not feeding, feeding) and to different biological (sex of the infant, birthweight) and social (socio-economic status of the mother) variables. These results would suggest discussion topics concerning the differences between the mother-infant interaction systems.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Behavioural and cardiovascular changes in children moving from kindergarten to primary school.

The effect of changing school environment from kindergarten to primary school and of the degree of structure of school tasks was examined in relation to behavioural and cardiovascular (heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure) patterns. Changing school environment was associated with an increase in the duration of stereotyped behaviours. The accompanying psychophysiological variables, which in kindergarten follow the simple motor activity/arousal model, are reversed in primary school where less motor activity is accompanied by higher states of physiological arousal. The results suggest that children develop cardiovascular responses as part of an adjustment to cope with changes in the environment.

Arousal↗
PubMed1988

[Relationship between general motor activity of children at school and the duration of school tasks].

A behavioural study was carried out with 20 children aged from 6 to 7 years attending the first year of primary school from 9:00 to 10:00 A.M. and 2:00 to 3:00 P.M. It appeared that the frequency and duration of getting up and moving around increased from the beginning to the end of both time intervals. There are significant positive correlations between these parameters and the duration of school tasks. It can be suggested that the general activity level is increased as a consequence of restraining children's general body activity and/or imposing on them sustained mental investment in school tasks.

Child↗