The aim of my thesis is to highlight the role of memory access by analogy in conceptual development. My work has generally been aimed at showing that a memory does not depend solely on perceptive similarities with a present situation to be evoked, but that it can be based on similarities on a more abstract level. We come to the babylab to study the role of this memory access by analogy in the refinement of concepts in the course of life. More specifically, we use an EEG device to study the way in which children use analogies to interpret new situations (eg a person who peels an orange) through familiar concepts (eg "she undresses an orange! ").