What is a conditioned reflex

From the very first minutes of life, every living being has unconditional reflexes. This is important, as they help to adapt and survive in the world around us, which carries a lot of dangers. Over time, unconditioned reflexes develop, and in addition to them, acquired reflexes appear, which are developed after receiving some life experience. They are called conditional.

What is a conditioned reflex

By this term is meant nothing but a connection of a temporal nature, which appeared as a result of the unification of an unconditioned and conditioned stimulus. This reflex is based on the temporal connections that appear between certain nervous structures in the empirical experience of living beings. The conditioned reflex is carried out by the higher parts of the brain. Those reflexes that refer to the unconditioned, in all representatives of the same species do not differ from each other, and conditioned reflexes are incredibly diverse. Every living individual has its own.

The variety of conditioned reflexes can be explained by the fact that each living being develops in its own way: external stimuli act on everyone in different ways, each mentality is arranged in an individual way, life situations are different and so on.

The conditioned reflexes of man, like any other living being, are based on reflexes of the unconditioned. Any external factors can act as conditioned stimuli. They can be separate, but also represent a whole chain of conditions. As a simple example of a conditioned reflex, you can bring this situation: the bell rings - the student starts to collect the notebooks on the desk. He does it unconsciously, but on the "automatic machine", since the call for him serves as a signal that it's time to leave. If you put a preschool child or someone who has not studied anywhere for a long time, give a lecture, and then give a call - he has not moved for a long time. This suggests that this conditioned reflex is available only to those whose primary activity is learning.

Conditional reflexes can be divided into two large groups: instrumental and classical. With classical reflexes, the reaction appears without any additional reinforcement, and with the instrumentals the living creature receives some "reward" after the reaction to the stimulus has followed.

Pavlov and his dogs

It was the Russian academician IP Pavlov who discovered conditioned reflexes. He also made a considerable contribution to their study. His works helped to understand and study the most complex organ of living beings. Of course, we are talking about the brain.

Academician mainly conducted experiments on dogs. The animal was placed in a chamber that was completely isolated from external stimuli, but it was also arranged so that the experimenter could follow the animal, remaining unnoticed. Often the dog was fixed with a special device that did not allow it to move. It is also worth noting that before the experiments the animals were made operations, thanks to which it was possible to monitor how much saliva they had allocated.

During the experiment a special food bowl was brought to the dog. An irritant (light bulb, whistle, click, etc.) was turned on, and the dog was given food. Over time, the dog developed a conditioned reflex, which consisted in the fact that a certain signal was perceived by her as a call to take food. This could be proved with the help of devices, thanks to which saliva was collected.

Academician Pavlov made a great contribution to the development of world science. His works are still valued and studied both in Russia and abroad.