The rapid development of physiology and biology, discoveries in psychophysics and psychophysiology stimulated the development of an anatomical and morphological model of the reflex, which filled enough
246 Part II. Psychology
but the speculative concepts of Descartes and Gartley have real content.
In the works of the psychophysiologist and physician I. Prochazka, a “common sensory” was discovered - an area of the brain where nerves originate, when stimulated, a transition from sensation to a motor response of the body to an external impulse occurs, i.e. from sensitive (sensory, centripetal) nerves to motor (motor, centrifugal). More low levels The innervations of behavior, which Kabanie wrote about, are connected with the work not of the brain, but of the spinal cord, which is involved in the organization of elementary forms of behavior, a kind of automatisms, which, however, do not act purely mechanically, but in accordance with the biological needs of the organism.
The study of the reflex system was continued in the works of the English anatomist and physiologist C. Bell and the French scientist F. Magendie, who identified fibers coming from the roots through spinal cord to the fibers that actuate the muscular apparatus. Thus, the reflex model was defined as a kind of automaton, consisting of three blocks: centripetal, central and centrifugal. This anatomical and morphological model of the work of the central nervous system called the Bell-Magendie law. This law describes the distribution pattern nerve fibers in the roots of the spinal cord: sensory fibers enter the spinal cord as part of the posterior roots, and motor fibers enter the anterior roots.
Research by I.M. Sechenov systematized the previous concepts by transforming reflex system in accordance with the experimental data of physiology. In the structure of the analyzer, he singled out three parts - centripetal, i.e. receptor, central part, processing information, and centrifugal, transmitting signals to the muscle. An important point for modern understanding reflex has the idea put forward by Sechenov of an image - a signal that not only "triggers" the reflex, but also regulates its course. In other words, not an external stimulus, but its reflection in the sense organ is a signal that triggers a reflex act. At the same time, a signal (i.e., an image of an object or situation), which makes it possible to distinguish the properties of objects external environment, directs and corrects the course of the reflex, optimizing its course.
Chapter 3. Mind and body 247
In the central part, several information processing centers are distinguished, the main of which are: the braking center ( volitional regulation), information storage (memory), pre-notification (thinking), and signal amplification (emotions).
By emphasizing the principle of "coordination of movement with feeling," Sechenov fundamentally reconsidered the role of muscular effort in the reflex act. His idea that the muscular sense contains a system of signals about the spatio-temporal parameters of the external world has been proven by a significant number of works. modern psychologists and physiologists. Thus, the muscle is not only an organ of movement, but also an organ of cognition, since objective actions are external analogues of some mental operations (analysis, synthesis, classification, etc.), helping to develop internal, proper mental operations.
Sechenov's thoughts on feedback(i.e., signals from the muscle to the sensory organs), necessary for self-regulation of behavior, were developed by NA Bernstein, who studied the mechanisms of building movement.
Bernstein showed that automatic execution by muscles of commands sent by nerve centers cannot underlie a complex movement, since it is continuously corrected in the process of execution. This is due to the fact that there is a cyclic connection between the muscle and the center. From the centers, signals are sent to the periphery in advance (Bernstein called them sensory corrections), which reflect, in accordance with the changing situation, the final result.
That is, the body, working, solves the motor problem. At the same time, there are five various levels movement building. Each level has its own, in his language, "afferent syntheses". This means that in the nerve centers there is, as it were, encoded information that carries information in advance about the outside world, in the space of which this or that class of movements is to be performed - “advanced reflection”. Thanks to this, the organism is able to anticipate, predict the conditions in which it will have to act in the future, and not only store information about the past and respond to stimuli that affect its nervous apparatus at the moment.
The organism faces the world already having a stock of projects of possible movements. In the creation of these projects, active
248 Part 11 Psychology
the ability of the organism, the ability to be creative, to create something new, to build, as Bernstein wrote, a model of the “required result”. Thus, the reflex model was finally formulated, while the main reason activity was not the direct effect of the stimulus on the organs of its perception, but the preparation of a model of a possible future action.
In addition to the structure of the reflex act, scientists were also interested in the ways of its transformation, changes under the influence of training and education. Great importance for psychological research of this problem were the works of I.P. Pavlov and V.M. Bekhterev.
Having studied the patterns of dynamics nervous processes(inhibition, irradiation, concentration, etc.), which cause external manifestations behavior, scientists have identified two levels of reflex behavior - unconditioned (simple) and conditioned (or combination) reflexes. Having a biological basis, the conditioned reflex is formed on the basis of an innate, unconditional (certain need, for example, for food, protection from harmful effects and others), and the body is constantly learning to distinguish, differentiate signals. If the signal leads to success, i.e. is reinforced, a connection is formed between it and the response action of the organism, which, with repetition, becomes more and more strong. This is how a conditioned reflex arises and is fixed.
It was also of great importance discovered by Pavlov the orienting reflex, or, as he called it, the “What is it?” reflex. It lies in the fact that the organism, as it were, continuously asks this question to the surrounding world, trying to find out the meaning of the situation in which it finds itself, and the best way“calculate” what is of the greatest value to him. The orienting reflex not only helps adaptation in an unfamiliar environment, but is also biological basis any cognitive motivation, stimulating interest in unfamiliar, new stimuli.
Exploring biological mechanisms reflex activity, Bekhterev proved that the flexibility and plasticity of the nervous system makes it possible to change in the right direction reflexes of any degree of complexity. That is, in the behavior of living beings, inherited reflexes play a minimal role, while the leading one belongs to acquired, conditional ones.
Chapter 3 Mind and body 249
QUESTIONS
1.What evidence of a connection individual qualities with the body of a creature
wali in antiquity?
2. How did ideas about organic bases individually
sti?
3. What is the role evolutionary theory Darwin in the development of psychology?
4. What data about the work of the sense organs were obtained in the studies of Mule
Lehr and Helmholtz?
5. What is the sensation threshold?
6. What are the differences between absolute and relative thresholds?
7. What is a dominant?
8. What mental processes can be explained by the activity of the dominant?
9. What is the structure of the analyzer in Sechenov's concept?
10. How Bernstein will explain complex nature behavior?
11. What is a conditioned reflex?
EXAMPLE ABOUT TOPICS
1. Comparative analysis of the approach to the problem of reflex in the history of psychology.
2. Significance of psychophysiology for psychological science.
3. Organic base individuality - from Hippocrates to Eysenck.
4. Dominant theory, its significance for psychology.
5. The role of the reflex theory in development psychological concepts education
and learning.
LITERATURE
1.Bernstein N.A. Essay on the physiology of movements and the physiology of activity.
M., 1966.
2. Bekhterev V.M. Objective psychology. M., 1991.
3. Galperin P.Ya. Introduction to psychology. M., 1976.
4. Ibn Son. Canon of Medicine. Tashkent, 1954. Book 1.
5. Pavlov I.P. Poly. coll. cit.: In 6 vols. M.; L., 1951. T. 3.
6. Rubinshtein S.L. Basics general psychology. M., 1989. T. 1, 2.
7. Sechenov IM. Selected Works.: In 2 vols. M., 1958. Vol. 2.
8. Ukhtomsky A.A. Dominant. L., 1966.
Sechenov was the first to formulate the reflex theory. Its main provisions are as follows:
1. A reflex is a kind of universal form of interaction between the organism and the environment, based on evolutionary biology. Sechenov distinguished two types of reflexes:
o Permanent, congenital, which are carried out by the lower parts of the nervous system ("pure" reflexes).
o Changeable, purchased in individual life, which he considered both physiological and mental phenomena.
2. Activities nerve centers is represented as a continuous dynamics of the processes of excitation and inhibition.
3. The centers of the brain can delay or increase the reflexes of the spinal cord.
4. Sechenov introduces the concept " physiological state nerve center", which is directly related to biological needs. The state of the center is the nerve substratum of the need.
5. The concept of "association of reflexes" is introduced, which underlies the learning of humans and animals.
However, Sechenov did not have enough experimental evidence their "brilliant guesses". Experimentally confirmed and supplemented the ideas of Sechenov Pavlov. He reinforced Sechenov's ideas scientific concept conditioned reflex, introduced it into the strict framework of laboratory experiment. The following most important achievements of Pavlovian theory can be singled out:
1. Created laboratory method objective study of the adaptive activity of humans and animals (method of conditioned reflexes).
2. The adaptive-evolutionary meaning of conditioned reflexes for the animal world is emphasized.
3. An attempt was made to localize the process of closing a temporary connection in the cortex hemispheres.
4. Ascertained the presence in the cortex of b.p. braking process.
5. The doctrine of analyzers is clearly formulated (3 blocks in the structure of any sensory system).
6. Formulated the concept of the cortex as a mosaic of the processes of excitation and inhibition.
7. At the end of his life, he put forward the principle of the systematic work of the brain.
So, the basic principles of the reflex theory of Pavlov-Sechenov are as follows:
1. The principle of determinism (causality). This principle means that any reflex reaction is causally determined, that is, there is no action without a cause. Every activity of the organism, every act of nervous activity is caused by a certain influence from the external or internal environment.
2. The principle of structure. According to this principle, each reflex reaction is carried out with the help of certain brain structures. There are no processes in the brain that would not have material basis. Each physiological act of nervous activity is confined to some structure.
3. The principle of analysis and synthesis of stimuli. The nervous system constantly analyzes (distinguishes) with the help of receptors all external and internal stimuli acting on the body, and on the basis of this analysis forms a holistic response - synthesis. In the brain, these processes of analysis and synthesis occur continuously and constantly. As a result, the body extracts the information it needs from the environment, processes it, fixes it in memory and forms response actions in accordance with the circumstances and needs.
REFLECTOR THEORY OF BEHAVIOR. Reflex is the main form of activity of the nervous system. The simplest reflexes belong to the innate, or unconditioned; they are inherited and ensure the adaptation of the body to constant environmental conditions. Unconditioned reflexes refer to specific features of animal behavior. Already in a newborn child, the simplest unconditioned reactions are observed: sucking (food unconditioned reflex), blinking eyes (defensive unconditioned reflex), reflex, “what is it?” (orienting unconditioned reflex).
More complex shapes innate behaviors are called instincts.
In the conditions of the external world, which is constantly changing, in addition to unconditioned reflexes, each individual organism has its own, individual experience. The same unconditioned reflexes can be performed both in response to hereditarily given stimuli, and to those signals with which given organism found only in his individual life. Such reflexes are called conditional.
Conditional reflexes are reactions acquired during the life of each person, with the help of which her body adapts to the changing influences of the environment. Conditioned reflexes are not inherited, but are acquired in the process of learning. A conditioned reflex is formed when some external event coincides in time with one or another activity of the organism or is reinforced by an unconditioned reflex.
During life, many complex conditioned reflexes are produced, which become part of our life experience. Motor conditioned reflexes that are produced by a person throughout life are called skills, or automated actions, with the help of which a person learns new things. motor skills, produces new forms of behavior.
Therefore, our behavior is determined by: 1) internal needs and 2) specific external conditions to which we constantly adapt with the help of unconditioned and conditioned reflexes. Consequently, our behavior is not only active and purposeful, but also subtly and precisely adapted to the surrounding conditions.
ADAPTIVE CHARACTER OF BEHAVIOR. For the normal existence of an organism in a changeable external environment, it is necessary to change its behavior in time, to adapt it to specific conditions.
The ability to manage one's behavior, change it in time, and sometimes completely restrain one or another behavioral response- one of the "important features of a well-mannered person.
Distinguish between unconditioned inhibition (when an unconditioned orienting reflex inhibits the corresponding behavior) and conditional inhibition (when fading away conditioned reflex as a result of its non-stimulation by an unconditioned stimulus). Those conditional reflexes and skills that cease to be of vital importance for a person or are not reinforced, go out. Instead, in the process of learning, other forms of behavior (conditioned reflexes) are produced that better adapt the human body to environmental conditions.
Reflex translated from Latin means turned back, reflected. Reflexes are the reactions of the body carried out by the nervous system in response to the influence of external or internal stimuli (Biological encyclopedic Dictionary, 1989).
The concept of reflex arose in the 17th century. in teaching French philosopher and the naturalist René Descartes (1596–1650). Although the term "reflex" itself was introduced later by the Czech anatomist and physiologist Jiří Prochazka (1749–1820).
The concept of the reflex developed by Rene Descartes was called mechanical. R. Descartes represented the nervous processes on the model of the circulatory system, using the principles of optics and mechanics that existed at that time. Under the reflex, he understood the movement of "animal spirits" from the brain to the muscles by the type of reflection of a light beam. By "animal spirits" Descartes designated the streams of the lightest and most mobile blood particles, which, being filtered from the rest, rise to the brain.
According to the scheme of nerve impulse proposed by Descartes, external objects act on the peripheral endings of the nerve "threads" located inside the "neural tubes". Stretching, the "threads" open the valves of the holes leading from the brain to the nerves. Through the channels of these nerves, "animal spirits" move to the corresponding muscles, which as a result swell, and thus movement occurs.
animal behavior and involuntary movements of a person were natural according to Descartes, i.e. reflex, response to some event in the outside world. The body was liberated from the soul for the first time. This allowed Descartes to call animals soulless mechanisms, machines. In contrast, only man has the capacity for conscious voluntary behavior, for which the soul is responsible. And here R. Descartes remained on the positions of idealism. He considered human consciousness in the form of a substantial beginning, capable of interacting with the body and acting through the brain. pineal gland(in modern anatomy - the epiphysis) to bodily processes subject to reflex laws. The body and consciousness (“reasonable soul”) for Descartes are independent substances (Batuev, 1991; Sokolova, 1995; Yaroshevsky, 1998).
Further development of the reflex bases of a behavioral act was reflected in the following concepts:
Ø The doctrine of nerve vibrations D. Hartley.
Ø The biological concept of the reflex by J. Prohaska.
Ø The anatomical concept of the reflex (C. Bell and F. Magendie, M. Hall and I. Muller).
Ø Psychophysiological concept of the reflex by I.M. Sechenov.
Ø The concept of the conditioned reflex I.P. Pavlova.
Ø Reflexology V.M. Bekhterev.
Ø The dialectical concept of A.A. Ukhtomsky.
Psychophysiological concept of reflex I.M. Sechenov. Russian physiologist and psychologist Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov (1829–1905) developed the natural science theory mental regulation behavior. The concept of the reflex nature of nervous activity underwent significant changes. The reflex was defined as "a holistic act with its middle intracerebral link and extracerebral somatic periphery, linking the organism with the object" (Sechenov, 1952). The reflex, thus, was understood by him as a universal and peculiar form of interaction of the organism with the environment. The inseparability was first shown mental processes from the brain and at the same time the conditionality of the psyche outside world. All mental acts, according to I.M. Sechenov, according to the method of origin and the mechanism of accomplishment, they are reflexes.
The main provisions of the reflex concept are as follows:
1. The reflex principle covers the functions of all hierarchical levels of the mental.
2. The psycho-physiological basis of mental phenomena is formed by processes that, by origin and method of implementation, are a particular form of reflex acts.
3. A holistic reflex act with its peripheral beginning, center and peripheral final link is further indivisible functional unit substrate of mental processes.
4. In the structure of the reflex act as an integral unit, the nervous and neuropsychic components are united by a common functional principle. They play the role of signals-regulators in relation to the executive link. Reflexes different levels The complexities correspond to regulatory signals different in structure and content (Sechenov, 1952).
Discovery of I.M. Sechenov in 1862 central braking was the first step towards the creation of a new physiology of the brain. The activity of the nerve centers is now conceived as a continuous dynamics of excitation and inhibition.
According to M.G. Yaroshevsky, major achievement Russian scientific thought was the transition to a new strategy for explaining psychophysiological correlations. The meaning of the transition, he notes, determined the rejection of the installation on the localization of "non-material" consciousness in material substance of the brain and the translation of the analysis of the psychophysiological problem into a fundamentally new plan, namely, in the plan of behavior research whole organism in the natural and social "as applied to man" environment. The pioneer of such a reorientation was I.M. Sechenov (Yaroshevsky, 1998).
The concept of the conditioned reflex I.P. Pavlova and the theory of GNI. Further development of the reflex theory was realized in the works of Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849–1936) and his school. Brilliant guesses, foresights and thoughts of I.M. He reinforced Sechenov with the scientific concept of the conditioned reflex.
He developed the idea of the adaptive nature of the reflex: “Being main activity of the central nervous system or its main function, reflexes, in fact, are elements of constant adaptation or constant balancing ”(Pavlov, 1951) of the organism with the environment. “The first provision of balance, and therefore integrity individual organism, as well as its species, constitute unconditioned reflexes, both the simplest ... and the most complex, usually called instincts ... But the balancing achieved by these reflexes would be perfect only with absolute constancy of the external environment. And since the external environment, with its extreme diversity, is at the same time in constant fluctuation, unconditional connections as constant connections are not enough, and it is necessary to supplement them with conditioned reflexes, temporary connections” (Pavlov, 1951).
I.P. Pavlov, defining the adaptive function of reflexes, distinguishes two large groups: unconditioned and conditioned reflexes.
Unconditioned reflex- a form of a reflex, which is always realized when certain stimuli act on the body. It is genetically determined by the neural connection between the organs of perception and executive bodies. There are simple unconditioned reflexes that ensure the elementary work of individual organs and systems (narrowing of the pupils under the influence of light, coughing when a foreign body enters the larynx), as well as more complex unconditioned reflexes that underlie instincts and are formed by sequences of simple unconditioned reflexes (Pavlov, 1952 ).
Conditioned reflex– a form of reflex that is a dynamic connection between the conditioned stimulus and the individual's response, initially triggered by the unconditioned stimulus. To explain the conditioned reflex at the level of the brain, the concept of a temporary neural connection was introduced as a mechanism that provides functional connection between separate structures nervous system under the influence of two or more events of the actual external environment (Pavlov, 1952).
During numerous experimental studies held at the school of I.P. Pavlov, the rules for the development of conditioned reflexes were determined:
1. The joint presentation of an initially indifferent and unconditioned stimulus, with some delay in the second, leads to the formation of a temporary connection.
2. In the absence of reinforcement (as a result of numerous non-reinforcement) of the conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned temporal connection, the temporal connection is gradually inhibited (Pavlov, 1952).
General scheme reflex is the interaction of three departments: the receptor, the central part of the nervous system and the effector (working organ).
Continuing Sechenov's theoretical line, I.P. Pavlov organically links the concepts of signal and signaling with the concept of reflex, considering the signal function universal component and a factor in the realization of any reflex. In addition, the signaling function is inherent in both the nervous and mental levels of organization of behavior (Pavlov, 1952; Yaroshevsky, 1998).
The introduction of the concept of signaling systems, as noted by M.G. Yaroshevsky, opened up new approaches to solving the psychophysiological problem. The uniqueness of the signal is that it integrates the physical (being external stimulus, acting in a special, transformed form), biological (being a signal for the nervous system) and mental (performing the function inherent in the psyche to distinguish between the conditions of action and manage it). Thanks to the principle of signaling, the body is able to anticipate the course of future events and organize behavior in accordance with possible favorable and unfavorable situations for it (Yaroshevsky, 1998).
I.P. Pavlov, defining the qualitative difference between the higher nervous activity of man and animals, put forward the doctrine of two signal systems.
First signal system- a type of signaling system as an orientation of animals and humans to direct stimuli, which can be visual, auditory, tactile signals associated with adaptive conditioned reflex reactions (Pavlov, 1952).
Second signal system- a type of signaling system that is focused on sign, primarily verbal, signals, on the basis of which the formation of temporary neural connections is possible (Pavlov, 1952).
Since a person is characterized by the joint action of the first and second signal systems, then I.P. Pavlov proposed to single out specifically human types higher nervous activity by the predominance of one or another system. According to this artistic type was defined as having a predominance of the first signaling system. People of this type make extensive use of sensory images in the process of thinking. They perceive phenomena and objects as a whole, without splitting them into parts. At thinking type the second signaling system predominates. They are characterized by a pronounced ability to abstract from reality, based on the desire to analyze, split reality into parts, and then combine the parts into a whole. middle type the balance of the functions of the two systems is characteristic (Pavlov, 1952; Danilova, 2000).
Thus, we come to the developed I.P. Pavlov's theory of higher nervous activity. In his analytical review, A.S. Batuev notes: “I.P. Pavlov, intoxicated with polemics with psychologists and sharing Cartesian determinism, began to study in depth the physiological patterns of conditional reflex activity, but left the biological side of the phenomenon to the future. Hence the inevitable contradictions in the idea of a conditioned reflex: on the one hand, an adaptive act of the whole organism, on the other, elementary process work of the nervous system. All scientific creativity I.P. Pavlov was devoted to resolving this contradiction and creating the least controversial ideology in his theory of higher nervous activity” (Batuev, 1991).
Higher nervous activity- a form of nervous activity, which includes neurophysiological processes that take place in the cortex of the cerebral hemispheres and the subcortex closest to it and determine the implementation mental functions. The unit of analysis of higher nervous activity is the reflex, through which the body reacts to the influences of the surrounding world. The main mechanisms of work are the nervous processes of excitation, due to which new temporary connections can form and function, and inhibition, which can cause the extinction of the conditioned reflex if the conditioned stimulus is not reinforced by the unconditioned one (Pavlov, 1952).
§ 3. reflex theory psyche
The concept of a reflex (in Latin - reflection) was introduced into science by the French scientist Rene Descartes. But his views, at that time, were still naive and contradictory. At the beginning of the last century, physiology had sufficiently studied spinal reflexes. The merit of creating a reflex theory of the psyche belongs to I.M. Sechenov and I.P. Pavlov. So, I.M. Sechenov in his book "Reflexes of the brain" (1863) showed that all acts of conscious and unconscious life according to their mode of origin, they are reflexes*. He singled out three links in reflexes:
the initial link is external irritation and its transformation by the sense organs into the process of nervous excitation transmitted to the brain;
the middle link - the central processes in the brain (processes of excitation and inhibition) and the emergence on this basis of mental states (sensations, thoughts, feelings, etc.);
the final link is the external movement.
* Sechenov I.M. Selected philosophical and psychological works. M., 1947, p. 176.
According to Sechenov, the reflexes of the brain begin with sensual excitation, continue with a certain mental act and end with a muscular movement *, since the middle link cannot be isolated from the first and third, and also since all mental phenomena are an inseparable part of the entire reflex process, which has a cause in influences external to the brain of the real world.
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* Sechenov I.M. Selected philosophical and psychological works. M., 1947, p. 111.
This was the first and quite successful attempt to create a reflex theory of the psyche. However, the honor of the deep experimental development of the reflex theory of the psyche belongs to I.P. Pavlov, who created new area science - the doctrine of higher nervous activity. Higher nervous activity is a concept that generalizes both the psychology and biology of higher nervous activity, which by no means means the identity of the latter. The basis of higher nervous activity is a conditioned reflex, which is both physiological and psychological phenomena. Here is how I.P. Pavlov, in the article "The Conditioned Reflex", written in 1934, presented his classic experience:
“...Let's make two simple experiments that everyone will succeed. Pour a moderate solution of some acid into the dog's mouth. It will evoke the usual defensive reaction of the animal: with vigorous movements of the mouth, the solution will be thrown out, out, and at the same time, saliva will flow abundantly into the mouth (and then out), diluting the injected acid and washing it off from the oral mucosa. Now another experience. Several times, we will act on the dog with any external agent, for example, a certain sound, just before introducing the same solution into its mouth. And what? It will be enough to repeat just one sound - and the dog will reproduce the same reaction: the same movements of the mouth and the same flow of saliva. Both of these facts are equally precise and constant. And both of them should be designated by the same physiological term "reflex" ...
It is legitimate to call the constant connection of an external agent with the activity of the organism in response to it an unconditioned reflex, and the temporary connection - a conditioned reflex ... Temporary neural connection is the most universal physiological phenomenon in the animal world and in ourselves. And at the same time, it is also mental - what psychologists call an association, will this formation of connections from all kinds of actions, impressions, or from letters, words and thoughts.
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* Pavlov I.P. Full coll. op. T. 3, book. 2, p. 322-325.
Now it is clear that mental functions are carried out by conditioned reflexes, which form the higher nervous activity, and its simpler functions are unconditioned reflexes, constituting the lowest nervous activity. The reflex described above in a dog (sound - salivation) is a conditioned reflex of the first order. But the significance of conditioned reflex activity is increased by the possibility of the formation of so-called reflexes of a higher (second, third, etc.) order, it turns out that if the first conditioned reflex is strong enough, then under certain circumstances after some time it can also become a conditioned stimulus. The connection "call - salivation" in this case will be a reflex of the second order. There are more complex reflexes. A second-order reflex can be formed only on the basis of a sufficiently strong first-order reflex. In the beginning, any newly formed reflex is not strong and is easily disturbed. Any external stimulus, for example, the same call, given together with or immediately after the light, causes the cessation of saliva flow - it inhibits the reflex. Such inhibition of the reflex under the influence of another stimulus I.P. Pavlov called external inhibition.
If in experiments with a dog that already has a developed “light - salivation” reflex, the light bulb is turned on many times in a row without feeding, then less and less saliva will be released, and finally the reflex will completely die out. This is the result of internal extinctive inhibition. Fading inhibition occurs, for example, in the process of fading skills in shooting weapons in the absence of exercise. A peculiar form of external inhibition is extreme braking caused by excessive force of the conditioned stimulus. For example, if, in an experiment with a dog that has a reflex to light a light bulb, a very bright light is given, then salivation may not only decrease, but even disappear altogether. With such transcendent inhibition, excitation in certain centers is so enhanced that it turns into its opposite - inhibition.
For a person, the strength of the stimulus is determined not only by its physical characteristics (brightness, loudness, etc.), but also by its individual significance specifically for this person. In this regard, transcendental braking plays a large and very difficult role in the field of emotions, and in particular in the manifestation of tension. Sometimes the "reprimanding" of a subordinate employee does not have a pedagogical effect, precisely because it causes prohibitive inhibition in him.
It has been proved that the formation of inhibition of conditioned reflexes is complicated by the process of induction. The nervous process of excitation formed in any part of the cerebral cortex spreads, radiates to neighboring areas. But when some part of the cerebral cortex enters a state of excitation, then in other parts of it, due to negative induction, a process of inhibition occurs. On the contrary, a region of excitation arises around the inhibited region due to positive induction. Due to successive induction, the cessation of excitation in any part of the cerebral cortex leads to its temporary inhibition, and the cessation of inhibition, respectively, to its increased excitability.
Irradiation, concentration and mutual induction of nervous processes form that change of excitation and inhibition, which I.P. Pavlov called the functional mosaic of the cerebral cortex or cortical neurodynamics. The system of conditioned reflexes, connected into one whole and manifested as a result of one trigger signal, I.P. Pavlov called it a dynamic stereotype, which is a physiological mechanism of skills and habits. A person who finds himself in new conditions has to break his previously formed stereotype and create a new one. This is a process that sometimes requires a lot of nervous work, which cannot be forgotten as a legal worker.
At the end of his life, I.P. Pavlov laid the foundation for the doctrine of the second signaling system reality. So, observing the rational behavior higher apes, I.P. Pavlov came to the conclusion that in addition to unconditioned and conditioned reflexes, there is a third type of them, which he called the causal reflex. When a monkey builds a tower to get a fruit, it cannot be called a "conditioned reflex," he said. This is a case of the formation of knowledge, catching normal communication of things. This is another case. Thus, the creator of the doctrine of conditioned reflexes further deepened the reflex theory of the psyche.
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*Pavlovian environments. T. 3, p. 262.
The most creatively developed the idea of his teacher P.K. Anokhin, who for the first time in our country began to develop the idea of feedback, proving at the same time that the reflex arc is a reflex ring that closes a series of reflexes into a spiral.
The doctrine of higher nervous activity, of the development of the psyche is the natural scientific basis of all psychological sciences, including legal psychology.
