Alexandre Romanovitch Luria (1902-1977). Partie I. Le psychologue

Starting with an overview of AR Luria's biography, this article presents his work in general psychology which is key to his conception of neuropsychology (this will be developed in a forthcoming paper). A focus is made on the construction of the historical and cultural theory of psychology he developed with LS Vygotski, according to which human natural mental activities, related to their genetic evolution and shared by all humankind, are transformed into higher cortical functions (i.e., conscious and voluntary activities) through the mediation of language and the products of social activity, and thus differ according to the development of societies. Luria's work is reviewed to support the theory through his expeditions in Central Asia, his studies on twins and children with intellectual disabilities, and the demonstration of the role of speech in child development on higher mental activities and regulation of behaviour.