Features of unconditioned reflexes. Unconditioned reflexes - what are they and what is their role

TOPIC 3.

2. Conditioned reflexes

5. Law of power relations

COMPLEX UNCONDITIONED REFLEXES

From the perspective reflex theory behavior is considered as the reactions of organisms to the influence of various environmental factors. A significant contribution to the development of the reflex theory of behavior was made by I.P. Pavlov, who proposed to consider two types of behavioral reflexes - unconditional and conditional. Unconditioned reflexes, according to I.P. Pavlov, - congenital, i.e. genetically determined. Unconditioned reflexes arise on the basis of innate reflex arcs. When adequate stimuli act on the corresponding receptors, unconditioned reflexes appear relatively constantly. I.P. Pavlov identified complex behavioral innate unconditioned reflexes, which he identified with instincts.

Complex unconditioned reflexes include food, defensive, sexual, orientation-exploratory, parental, etc. It should be especially emphasized orientation and research activities- the reaction of animals to unexpected, usually new, stimuli. I.P. Pavlov called this reaction “what is it?” Orientation and research activities underlie many forms of learning.

Complex unconditioned reflexes manifest themselves in the form of specific behavioral reactions of animals when exposed to appropriate stimuli. The most demonstrative in this regard is the complex food reflex. It manifests itself when food acts on distant receptors or on the receptors of the animal’s digestive tract in motor, as well as secretory and other autonomic reactions - changes in breathing, heart activity, etc. A complex defensive reflex, along with the animal’s motor reaction, also includes changes in a number of autonomic functions: secretory activity digestive glands, heart activity, breathing, sweating, etc.

CONDITIONED REFLEXES

A conditioned reflex is a qualitatively special form of reflexive behavioral activity. Conditioned reflexes, according to I.P. Pavlov, are acquired by living beings in individual life. They are related to learning. This is an extremely variable form of reflex activity. As shown by I.P. Pavlov, in a conditioned reflex, the response action of an animal is not determined by the stimulus itself, but arises as a result of the repeated coincidence (combination) of one or another external (conditioned) stimulus with vital activity (unconditioned reflexes). Then a previously relatively indifferent stimulus begins to proactively evoke a reaction characteristic of an unconditioned stimulus. In other words, in a developed conditioned reflex, the conditioned stimulus proactively reflects the properties of the unconditioned stimulus combined with it.

Formation of a food conditioned reflex. When forming a conditioned food reflex, the leading factor is the initial nutritional need. Classic example is the formation of a conditioned food reflex in a dog. When a hungry dog ​​is first presented with a conditioned stimulus, for example, a flash of a light bulb in front of it, the animal responds with an innate unconditioned reaction - orienting-exploratory activity: turning its head and body towards the light bulb, looking at it. An unconditioned reaction to food is manifested in the motor activity of a hungry animal and the secretion of saliva, which can be recorded through a salivary duct fistula specially placed on the surface of the dog’s cheek. As a result of repeated 10-20 combinations of a flash of light (conditioned stimulus) and subsequent feeding (unconditioned stimulus) on the animal, a temporary connection is formed in a hungry animal - the conditioned stimulus begins to cause an unconditioned reaction: in response to the lighting of the light bulb, the animal has a food reaction - movement and salivation. As a result of the development of a conditioned reflex, a qualitative change in the effect of an external stimulus (light) on the body occurs. Instead of an indicative-exploratory reaction, it now causes a food reaction in the animal.

Development of a defensive conditioned reflex. When developing defensive behavior, an animal, following a conditioned signal, is subjected to a damaging effect, for example electric current. Electrodermal exposure, especially getting rid of it, acts in this case as an adaptive result for the animal. A two or threefold combination of a conditioned stimulus with an electrocutaneous one is usually enough to develop a conditioned defensive reflex, i.e. in response to a previously indifferent influence, the animal begins to respond with a defensive reaction.

Active and passive defensive reaction. A conditioned defensive reaction can be active when, in response to the action of a conditioned stimulus, the animal makes an active reaction - moves to a safe room or performs an instrumental action that protects it from electrocutaneous irritation. A passive conditioned reflex defensive reaction is observed, for example, in rats when they are trained not to enter the dark compartment of the chamber, in which they usually prefer to be, since in this compartment they receive electrocutaneous irritation.

Reinforcement and signaling in the conditioned reflex. The above examples demonstrate that an indispensable condition for the formation of conditioned reflexes is reinforcement, when a previously indifferent stimulus is repeatedly combined with a subsequent unconditioned reflex.

Another principle characterizing conditioned reflex activity is signaling principle. The body's response to the action of a conditioned stimulus carries within itself the properties of a future unconditional influence. The conditioned stimulus thus signals the subsequent unconditioned reflex.

Classification of conditioned reflexes

Conditioned reflexes are classified:

a) by the name of conditioned stimuli - light, sound, olfactory, tactile, etc.;

b) by the name of the analyzer that perceives the conditioned stimulus - visual, auditory, skin, etc.;

d) by the nature of reinforcement - food, defensive, sexual;

e) according to the production method - short- and long-delayed, delayed, trace and coinciding.

With short-delayed conditioned reflexes, the interval between the conditioned stimulus and reinforcement is usually 10-20 s and does not exceed 30 s.

In long-delayed conditioned reflexes, this interval is more than 30 s.

In delayed conditioned reflexes, the interval between the conditioned signal and reinforcement is 3 minutes.

In trace conditioned reflexes, reinforcement is provided to the animal after the conditioned stimulus ceases.

With coinciding conditioned reflexes, the conditioned signal and reinforcement are provided to the animal simultaneously.

Law of power relations

The law of power relations is clearly manifested in conditioned reflex activity. This law has two sides: the physical strength of the conditioned stimulus and the physiological significance and strength of the reinforcement.

In relation to the physical force of conditioned stimuli, the law is formulated as follows: magnitudeconditioned reflex response is directly proportional to the physical strength of the conditioned stimulus.

If we arrange conditioned stimuli in a certain hierarchical series according to their physical strength, for example, a siren, tone, light, skin touch, etc., then to the sound of a siren with the same value, for example, food reinforcement, the value of the food conditioned reflex (in drops saliva) for the same segment of isolated action of the conditioned signal will be greater than the response to tone and light presented under the same conditions.

Relative to physiological strength reinforcement, the magnitude of the conditioned reflex response is higher, the more significant the reinforcement is in biological terms for preserving the life of an individual or prolonging his race. It is clear that, other conditions being equal, the magnitude of the conditioned reflex response to the same conditioned stimulus in a hungry dog ​​is greater when reinforced with meat than, for example, with meat powder.

The law of physical strength is violated during neurotic states, sleep and hypnosis.

TOPIC 3.

REFLECTOR PRINCIPLE OF ORGANIZATION OF BEHAVIOR

1. Complex unconditioned reflexes

2. Conditioned reflexes

3. Rules for the development of conditioned reflexes

4. Classification of conditioned reflexes

5. Law of power relations

6. Conditioned reflexes of the second and third order

7. Mechanisms of formation of a conditioned reflex

7.1 Representations by I.P. Pavlova on the mechanism of “temporal connection”

7.2. Conditioned reflex in the light of modern neurophysiology data

8. Limitations of the reflex theory of behavior

Such habitual actions as breathing, swallowing, sneezing, blinking occur without conscious control, are innate mechanisms, help a person or animal to survive and ensure the preservation of the species - all these are unconditioned reflexes.

What is an unconditioned reflex?

I.P. Pavlov, a scientist-physiologist, devoted his life to the study of higher nervous activity. In order to understand what human unconditioned reflexes are, it is important to consider the meaning of the reflex as a whole. Any organism that has a nervous system carries out reflex activity. Reflex is a complex reaction of the body to internal and external stimuli, carried out in the form of a reflex response.

Unconditioned reflexes are innate stereotypical reactions laid down at the genetic level in response to changes in internal homeostasis or environmental conditions. For the emergence of unconditioned reflexes, special conditions are automatic reactions that can fail only in severe diseases. Examples of unconditioned reflexes:

• withdrawing a limb from contact with hot water;
• knee reflex;
• sucking, grasping in newborns;
• swallowing;
• salivation;
• sneezing;
• blinking.

What is the role of unconditioned reflexes in human life?

Human evolution over the centuries has been accompanied by changes in the genetic apparatus, selection of traits that are necessary for survival in surrounding nature. became highly organized matter. What is the significance of unconditioned reflexes - answers can be found in the works of physiologists Sechenov, I.P. Pavlova, P.V. Simonova. Scientists have identified several important functions:

• maintaining homeostasis (self-regulation of the internal environment) in optimal balance;
• adaptation and adaptation of the body (mechanisms of thermoregulation, respiration, digestion);
• preservation of species characteristics;
• reproduction.

Signs of unconditioned reflexes

The main feature of unconditioned reflexes is innateness. Nature made sure that all functions important for life in this world were reliably recorded on the DNA nucleotide chain. Other characteristic features:

• preliminary training and control of consciousness are not required;
• are specific;
• strictly specific - occur upon contact with a specific stimulus;
• constant reflex arcs in the lower parts of the central nervous system;
• most unconditioned reflexes persist throughout life;
• a set of unconditioned reflexes helps the body adapt to the environment in the early stages of development;
• are the basic basis for the emergence of conditioned reflexes.

Types of unconditioned reflexes

Unconditioned reflexes have different types of classification, I.P. Pavlov was the first to classify them into: simple, complex and most complex. In the distribution of unconditioned reflexes according to the factor of certain space-time regions occupied by each creature, P.V. Simonov divided the types of unconditioned reflexes into 3 classes:

1. Role unconditioned reflexes– manifest themselves in interaction with other intraspecific representatives. These are reflexes: sexual, territorial behavior, parental (maternal, paternal), phenomenon.
2. Unconditioned vital reflexes– all the basic needs of the body, the deprivation or dissatisfaction of which leads to death. Provide individual safety: drinking, food, sleep and wakefulness, orientation, defensive.
3. Unconditioned reflexes of self-development- are included when mastering something new, previously unfamiliar (knowledge, space):

• reflex of overcoming or resistance (freedom);
• game;
• imitative.

Types of inhibition of unconditioned reflexes

Excitation and inhibition are important innate functions of higher nervous activity, which ensure the coordinated activity of the body and without which this activity would be chaotic. Inhibitory unconditioned reflexes in the process of evolution turned into a complex response nervous system– braking. I.P. Pavlov identified 3 types of inhibition:

1. Unconditional inhibition (external)– reaction “What is it?” allows you to assess whether the situation is dangerous or not. In the future, with frequent manifestations of an external stimulus that does not pose a danger, inhibition does not occur.
2. Conditioned (internal) inhibition– the functions of conditioned inhibition ensure the extinction of reflexes that have lost their value, help distinguish useful signals with reinforcement from useless ones, and form a delayed reaction to a stimulus.
3. Transcendental (protective) inhibition- an unconditional safety mechanism provided by nature, which is triggered by excessive fatigue, excitement, severe injuries (fainting, coma).

A reflex is the body's response to internal or external stimulation, carried out and controlled by the central nervous system. The first scientists who developed ideas about what was previously a mystery were our compatriots I.P. Pavlov and I.M. Sechenov.

What are unconditioned reflexes?

An unconditioned reflex is an innate, stereotypical reaction of the body to the influence of the internal or environmental environment, inherited by the offspring from the parents. It remains in a person throughout his life. Reflex arcs pass through the brain and the cerebral cortex does not take part in their formation. The significance of the unconditioned reflex is that it ensures the adaptation of the human body directly to those environmental changes that often accompanied many generations of his ancestors.

What reflexes are unconditioned?

An unconditioned reflex is the main form of activity of the nervous system, an automatic reaction to a stimulus. And since a person is influenced by various factors, the reflexes are different: food, defensive, orientation, sexual... Food include salivation, swallowing and sucking. Defensive actions include coughing, blinking, sneezing, and jerking limbs away from hot objects. Approximate reactions include turning the head and squinting the eyes. Sexual instincts include those associated with reproduction, as well as caring for offspring. The significance of the unconditioned reflex is that it ensures the preservation of the integrity of the body and maintains the constancy of the internal environment. Thanks to him, reproduction occurs. Even in newborn children, one can observe an elementary unconditioned reflex - this is sucking. By the way, it is the most important. The irritant in this case is touching the lips of any object (pacifier, mother's breast, toy or finger). Another important unconditioned reflex is blinking, which occurs when a foreign body approaches the eye or touches the cornea. This reaction belongs to the protective or defensive group. Also observed in children, for example, when exposed to strong light. However, the signs of unconditioned reflexes are most clearly manifested in various animals.

What are conditioned reflexes?

Conditioned reflexes are those acquired by the body during life. They are formed on the basis of inherited ones, subject to exposure to an external stimulus (time, knocking, light, and so on). A striking example are experiments conducted on dogs by academician I.P. Pavlov. He studied the formation of this type of reflexes in animals and was the developer unique technique receiving them. So, to develop such reactions, the presence of a regular stimulus - a signal - is necessary. It triggers the mechanism, and repeated repetition of the stimulus allows it to develop. In this case, a so-called temporary connection arises between the arcs of the unconditioned reflex and the centers of the analyzers. Now the basic instinct awakens under the influence of fundamentally new external signals. These stimuli from the surrounding world, to which the body was previously indifferent, begin to acquire an exceptional, vital important. Each living creature can develop many different conditioned reflexes during its life, which form the basis of its experience. However, this applies only to this particular individual; this life experience will not be inherited.

An independent category of conditioned reflexes

It is customary to classify into a separate category conditioned reflexes of a motor nature developed throughout life, that is, skills or automated actions. Their meaning is to master new skills, as well as develop new motor forms. For example, over the entire period of his life a person masters many special motor skills that are associated with his profession. They are the basis of our behavior. Thinking, attention, and consciousness are freed up when performing operations that have reached automaticity and become a reality of everyday life. The most successful way to master skills is to systematically perform the exercise, timely correction of noticed errors, and knowledge ultimate goal any task. If the conditioned stimulus is not reinforced by the unconditioned stimulus for some time, it is inhibited. However, it does not disappear completely. If you repeat the action after some time, the reflex will be restored quite quickly. Inhibition can also occur when a stimulus of even greater strength appears.

Compare unconditioned and conditioned reflexes

As mentioned above, these reactions differ in the nature of their occurrence and have different formation mechanisms. In order to understand what the difference is, just compare unconditioned and conditioned reflexes. Thus, the first ones are present in a living creature from birth; throughout life they do not change or disappear. In addition, unconditioned reflexes are the same in all organisms specific type. Their significance lies in preparing a living being for constant conditions. The reflex arc of this reaction passes through the brain stem or spinal cord. As an example, here are some (congenital): active secretion of saliva when a lemon enters the mouth; sucking movement of the newborn; coughing, sneezing, withdrawing hands from a hot object. Now let's look at the characteristics of conditioned reactions. They are acquired throughout life, can change or disappear, and, no less important, each organism has its own individual (its own). Their main function is to adapt a living creature to changing conditions. Their temporary connection (reflex centers) is created in the cerebral cortex. An example of a conditioned reflex is the reaction of an animal to a nickname or the reaction of a six-month-old child to a bottle of milk.

Unconditioned reflex diagram

According to the research of academician I.P. Pavlova, the general scheme of unconditioned reflexes is as follows. Certain receptor nerve devices are affected by certain stimuli from the internal or external world of the body. As a result, the resulting irritation transforms the entire process into the so-called phenomenon of nervous excitation. It is transmitted along nerve fibers (as if through wires) to the central nervous system, and from there it goes to a specific working organ, already turning into a specific process at the cellular level this area body. It turns out that certain stimuli are naturally connected with this or that activity in the same way as cause and effect.

Features of unconditioned reflexes

The characteristics of unconditioned reflexes presented below systematize the material presented above; it will help to finally understand the phenomenon we are considering. So, what are the features of inherited reactions?

Unconditioned instinct and reflex of animals

The exceptional constancy of the nervous connection underlying unconditional instinct is explained by the fact that all animals are born with a nervous system. She is already able to respond appropriately to specific environmental stimuli. For example, a creature may flinch at a sharp sound; he will secrete digestive juice and saliva when food enters his mouth or stomach; it will blink when visually stimulated, and so on. Innate in animals and humans are not only individual unconditioned reflexes, but also much more complex forms of reactions. They are called instincts.

An unconditioned reflex, in fact, is not a completely monotonous, template, transfer reaction of an animal to an external stimulus. It is characterized, although elementary, primitive, but still by variability, variability, depending on external conditions (strength, peculiarities of the situation, position of the stimulus). In addition, it is influenced by the internal states of the animal (decreased or increased activity, posture, etc.). So, also I.M. Sechenov, in his experiments with decapitated (spinal) frogs, showed that when the toes of the hind legs of this amphibian are exposed, the opposite motor reaction occurs. From this we can conclude that the unconditioned reflex still has adaptive variability, but within insignificant limits. As a result, we find that the balancing of the organism and the external environment achieved with the help of these reactions can be relatively perfect only in relation to slightly changing factors of the surrounding world. The unconditioned reflex is not able to ensure the animal’s adaptation to new or sharply changing conditions.

As for instincts, sometimes they are expressed in the form of simple actions. For example, the rider, thanks to his sense of smell, finds the larvae of another insect under the bark. It pierces the bark and lays its egg in the found victim. This ends all of its actions that ensure continuation of the family. There are also complex unconditioned reflexes. Instincts of this kind consist of a chain of actions, the totality of which ensures procreation. Examples include birds, ants, bees and other animals.

Species specificity

Unconditioned reflexes (specific) are present in both humans and animals. It should be understood that such reactions will be the same in all representatives of the same species. An example is a turtle. All species of these amphibians retract their heads and limbs into their shell when danger arises. And all the hedgehogs jump and make a hissing sound. In addition, you should know that not all unconditioned reflexes occur at the same time. These reactions vary with age and season. For example, the breeding season or the motor and sucking actions that appear in an 18-week fetus. Thus, unconditioned reactions are a kind of development for conditioned reflexes in humans and animals. For example, as cubs grow older, they transition into the category of synthetic complexes. They increase the body's adaptability to external environmental conditions.

Unconditional inhibition

In the process of life, each organism is regularly exposed - both from the outside and from the inside - to various stimuli. Each of them is capable of causing a corresponding reaction - a reflex. If all of them could be realized, then the life activity of such an organism would become chaotic. However, this does not happen. On the contrary, reactionary activity is characterized by consistency and orderliness. This is explained by the fact that unconditioned reflexes are inhibited in the body. This means that the most important reflex at a particular moment in time delays the secondary ones. Typically, external inhibition can occur at the moment of starting another activity. The new pathogen, being stronger, leads to the attenuation of the old one. And as a result, the previous activity will automatically stop. For example, a dog is eating, and at that moment the doorbell rings. The animal immediately stops eating and runs to meet the newcomer. There is a sharp change in activity, and the dog’s salivation stops at this moment. Unconditional inhibition of reflexes also includes some innate reactions. In them, certain pathogens cause the complete cessation of certain actions. For example, the anxious clucking of a hen makes the chicks freeze and hug the ground, and the onset of darkness forces the canary to stop singing.

In addition, there is also a protective It arises as a response to a very strong stimulus that requires the body to take actions that exceed its capabilities. The level of such influence is determined by the frequency of impulses of the nervous system. The more excited a neuron is, the higher the frequency of the stream of nerve impulses it generates. However, if this flow exceeds certain limits, then a process will arise that will begin to interfere with the passage of excitation through the neural circuit. The flow of impulses along the reflex arc of the spinal cord and brain is interrupted, resulting in inhibition that preserves the executive organs from complete exhaustion. What conclusion follows from this? Thanks to the inhibition of unconditioned reflexes, the body secretes from all possible options the most adequate, capable of protecting against excessive activities. This process also contributes to the exercise of so-called biological precautions.

Features of unconditioned reflexes

In the specialized literature, in conversations between specialist dog handlers and amateur trainers, the term “reflex” is often used, but there is no common understanding of the meaning of this term among dog handlers. Now many people are interested in Western training systems, new terms are being introduced, but few people fully understand the old terminology. We will try to help systematize ideas about reflexes for those who have already forgotten a lot, and to gain these ideas for those who are just beginning to master the theory and methods of training.

A reflex is the body's response to a stimulus.

(If you haven't read the article on irritants, be sure to read that first and then move on to this material). Unconditioned reflexes are divided into simple (food, defensive, sexual, visceral, tendon) and complex reflexes (instincts, emotions). Some researchers to B. r. also include indicative (orientative-exploratory) reflexes. The instinctive activity of animals (instincts) includes several stages of animal behavior, and the individual stages of its implementation are sequentially connected with each other like a chain reflex. The question of the mechanisms of closure of B. r. insufficiently studied. According to the teachings of I.P. Pavlov about the cortical representation of B. r., each unconditional stimulation, along with the inclusion of subcortical structures, causes excitation of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex. Studies of cortical processes using electrophysiological methods have shown that an unconditioned stimulus comes to the cerebral cortex in the form of a generalized flow of ascending excitations. Based on the provisions of I.P. Pavlov about the nerve center as a morphofunctional set of nerve formations located in various parts of the central nervous system, the concept of the structural and functional architecture of B. r. central part arcs B. r. does not pass through any one part of the central nervous system, but is multi-storey and multi-branched. Each branch passes through an important part of the nervous system: the spinal cord, medulla oblongata, midbrain, and cerebral cortex. The higher branch, in the form of the cortical representation of one or another BR, serves as the basis for the formation of conditioned reflexes. Evolutionarily more primitive species of animals are characterized by simple B. r. and instincts, for example, in animals in which the role of acquired, individually developed reactions is still relatively small and innate, albeit complex forms of behavior predominate, the dominance of tendon and labyrinthine reflexes is observed. With the complication of the structural organization of the c.s.s. and the progressive development of the cerebral cortex, complex unconditioned reflexes and, in particular, emotions acquire a significant role. Study of B. r. is important for the clinic. So, in conditions of pathology of the central nervous system. B. r. may appear, characteristic of early stages onto- and phylogenesis (sucking, grasping, Babinsky, Bekhterev, etc. reflexes), which can be considered as rudimentary functions, i.e. functions that existed previously, but were suppressed during phylogenesis higher departments c.s.s. When the pyramidal tracts are damaged, these functions are restored due to the resulting disconnection between the phylogenetically ancient and later developed sections of the central nervous system.

Unconditioned reflexes

An unconditioned reflex is an innate response of the body to a stimulus. Each unconditioned reflex manifests itself at a certain age and in response to certain stimuli. In the very first hours after its birth, the puppy is able to find its mother’s nipples and suck milk. These actions are provided by innate unconditioned reflexes. Later, a reaction to light and moving objects, the ability to chew and swallow solid food begins to appear. At a later age, the puppy begins to actively explore the territory, play with littermates, exhibit an indicative reaction, an active defensive reaction, a pursuit and prey reaction. All these actions are based on innate reflexes, varying in complexity and manifested in different situations.

According to the level of complexity, unconditioned reflexes are divided into:

simple unconditioned reflexes

reflex acts

behavior reactions

· instincts

Simple unconditioned reflexes are elementary innate reactions to stimuli. For example, withdrawing a limb from a hot object, blinking an eyelid when a speck gets into the eye, etc. Simple unconditioned reflexes to the corresponding stimulus always appear and cannot be changed or corrected.

Reflex acts- actions determined by several simple unconditioned reflexes, always performed in the same way and regardless of the dog’s consciousness. Basically, reflex acts ensure the vital functions of the body, therefore they always manifest themselves reliably and cannot be corrected.

Some examples of reflex acts:

Breath;

Swallowing;

Belching

When training and raising a dog, you should remember that the only way to prevent the manifestation of one or another reflex act is to change or remove the stimulus that causes it. So, if you want your pet not to defecate while practicing obedience skills (and he will still do this if necessary, despite your prohibition, because this is a manifestation of a reflex act), then walk the dog before training. In this way, you will eliminate the corresponding stimuli that cause a reflex act that is undesirable for you.

Behavioral reactions are the dog’s desire to carry out certain actions, based on a complex of reflex acts and simple unconditioned reflexes.

For example, the fetch reaction (the desire to pick up and carry objects, play with them); active-defensive reaction (the desire to show an aggressive reaction to a person); olfactory-search reaction (the desire to search for objects by their smell) and many others. Please note that the response of a behavior is not the behavior itself. For example, a dog has a strong innate active-defensive reaction of behavior and at the same time is physically weak, small in stature, and throughout its life it constantly received negative results when trying to carry out aggression against a person. Will she behave aggressively and will she be dangerous in a particular situation? Most likely no. But the animal’s innate aggressive tendency must be taken into account, and this dog may well be able to attack a weak opponent, for example, a child.

Thus, behavioral reactions are the cause of many of the dog's actions, but in a real situation their manifestation can be controlled. We gave a negative example showing unwanted behavior in a dog. But attempts to develop the desired behavior in the absence of the necessary reactions will end in failure. For example, it is useless to train a search dog from a candidate who lacks an olfactory-search reaction. A dog with a passive-defensive reaction (a cowardly dog) will not make a guard.

Instincts are innate motivation that determines long-term behavior aimed at satisfying certain needs.

Examples of instincts: sexual instinct; the instinct of self-preservation; hunting instinct (often transformed into prey instinct), etc. An animal does not always perform actions dictated by instinct. A dog may, under the influence of certain stimuli, exhibit behavior that is in no way related to the implementation of one or another instinct, but in general the animal will strive to realize it. For example, if a female dog in heat appears near the training area, the behavior of the male dog will be determined by sexual instinct. By controlling the male, using certain stimuli, you can make the male work, but if your control weakens, the male will again strive to realize sexual motivation. Thus, unconditioned reflexes are the main motivating force that determines the behavior of an animal. The lower the level of organization of unconditioned reflexes, the less controllable they are. Unconditioned reflexes are the basis of a dog’s behavior, so careful selection of an animal for training and determination of abilities for a particular service (work) is extremely important. It is believed that the success of using a dog effectively is determined by three factors:

Selecting a dog for training;

Training;

Proper use of the dog

Moreover, the importance of the first point is estimated at 40%, the second and third - 30% each.

The behavior of animals is based on simple and complex innate reactions - the so-called unconditioned reflexes. An unconditioned reflex is an innate reflex that is persistently inherited. An animal does not need training to exhibit unconditioned reflexes; it is born with reflex mechanisms ready for their manifestation. For the manifestation of an unconditioned reflex it is necessary:

· firstly, the irritant that causes it,

· secondly, the presence of a certain conductive apparatus, i.e., a ready-made nerve pathway (reflex arc), ensuring the passage of nerve stimulation from the receptor to the corresponding working organ (muscle or gland).

If you pour a weak concentration of hydrochloric acid (0.5%) into your dog’s mouth, he will try to throw the acid out of his mouth with energetic movements of his tongue, and at the same time liquid saliva will flow, protecting the oral mucosa from damage by the acid. If you apply painful stimulation to a dog’s limb, it will certainly pull it back and press its paw. These reactions of a dog to the irritating effect of hydrochloric acid or to painful stimulation will manifest themselves with strict regularity in any animal. They certainly appear under the action of the corresponding stimulus, which is why they were called I.P. Pavlov's unconditioned reflexes. Unconditioned reflexes are caused by external stimuli, and irritants coming from the body itself. All acts of activity of a newborn animal are unconditioned reflexes that ensure the existence of the organism for the first time. Breathing, sucking, urination, feces, etc. - all these are innate unconditioned reflex reactions; Moreover, the irritations that cause them come mainly from internal organs(a full bladder causes urination, the presence of feces in the rectum causes straining, leading to fecal eruption, etc.). However, as the dog grows and matures, a number of other, more complex unconditioned reflexes appear. Such unconditioned reflexes include, for example, the sexual reflex. The presence of a bitch near a male dog in a state of heat (in a void) causes an unconditional reflex sexual reaction on the part of the male dog, which manifests itself in the form of a sum of rather complex, but at the same time natural actions aimed at performing sexual intercourse. The dog does not learn this reflex reaction; it naturally begins to manifest itself in the animal during puberty, in response to a specific (albeit complex) stimulus (bitch and heat) and therefore should also be classified as a group of unconditioned reflexes. The whole difference between, for example, the sexual reflex and withdrawing a paw during painful stimulation lies only in the varying complexity of these reflexes, but they are not fundamentally different from each other. Therefore, unconditioned reflexes can be divided according to the principle of their complexity into simple and complex. However, it must be borne in mind that a whole series of simple unconditioned reflex acts are involved in the manifestation of a complex unconditioned reflex. For example, the food unconditioned reflex reaction of even a newly born puppy is carried out with the participation of a number of simpler unconditioned reflexes - acts of sucking, swallowing movements, reflex activity of the salivary glands and stomach glands. In this case, one unconditional reflex act is a stimulus for the manifestation of the next, i.e. a chain of reflexes occurs, so they speak of the chain nature of unconditioned reflexes. Academician I.P. Pavlov drew attention to some basic unconditioned reflexes of animals, pointing out at the same time that this issue was still very insufficiently developed.

· Firstly, animals have an unconditioned food reflex aimed at providing the body with food,

· secondly, the sexual unconditioned reflex, aimed at the reproduction of offspring, and the parental (or maternal) reflex, aimed at preserving the offspring,

· thirdly, defensive reflexes associated with protecting the body.

Moreover, there are two types of defensive reflexes

· actively (aggressively) defensive reflex underlying malice, and

· passive defensive reflex underlying cowardice.

These two reflexes are diametrically opposed in the form of their manifestation; one is aimed at attack, the other, on the contrary, at running away from the stimulus that causes it.

Sometimes in dogs, active and passive defensive reflexes appear simultaneously: the dog barks, rushes, but at the same time tucks its tail, rushes about, and runs away at the slightest active action from the irritant (for example, a person).

Finally, animals have a reflex associated with the constant familiarization of the animal with everything new, the so-called orienting reflex, which ensures the animal’s awareness of all the changes occurring around it and underlies constant “reconnaissance” in its environment. In addition to these basic complex unconditioned reflexes, there are a number of simple unconditioned reflexes associated with breathing, urination, feces and other functional functions of the body. Finally, each animal species has a number of its own, unique to it, complex unconditioned reflex acts of behavior (for example, complex unconditioned reflexes of beavers associated with the construction of dams, houses, etc.; unconditioned reflexes of birds associated with the construction of nests, spring and autumn flights, etc.). Dogs also have a number of special unconditioned reflex acts of behavior. So, for example, the basis of hunting behavior is a complex unconditioned reflex, associated in the wild ancestors of the dog with the food unconditioned reflex, which turned out to be so modified and specialized in hunting dogs that it acts as an independent unconditioned reflex. Moreover, different breeds In dogs, this reflex has a different expression. In gundogs, the irritant is mainly the smell of a bird, and very specific birds; chickens (grouse, black grouse), waders (snipe, woodcock, great snipe), rails (crake, marsh hen, etc.). In hound dogs, the sight or smell of a hare, fox, wolf, etc. Moreover, the very form of unconditional reflex acts of behavior in these dogs is completely different. A gun dog, having found a bird, makes a stand over it; a hound dog, having caught the trail, chases the animal along it, barking. Service dogs often have a pronounced hunting reflex aimed at pursuing the animal. The question of the possibility of changing unconditioned reflexes under the influence of the environment is extremely important. A demonstrative experiment in this direction was carried out in the laboratory of Academician I.P. Pavlova.

Two litters of puppies were divided into two groups and raised in dramatically different conditions. One group was raised in the wild, the other in isolation from the outside world (indoors). When the puppies grew up, it turned out that they differed sharply from each other in behavior. Those who were brought up in freedom did not have a passive defensive reaction, while those who lived in isolation had it in a pronounced form. Academician I.P. Pavlov explains this by the fact that all puppies at a certain age of their development exhibit a reflex of primary natural caution to all new stimuli. As they become more familiar with the environment, this reflex gradually slows down and switches into an orienting reaction. Those puppies who, during their development, did not have the opportunity to get acquainted with all the diversity of the outside world, do not get rid of this puppy passive-defensive reflex and remain cowardly for the rest of their lives. The manifestation of an active defensive reaction was studied on dogs raised in kennels, i.e. in conditions of partial isolation, and among hobbyists, where puppies have the opportunity to be more in touch with the diversity of the outside world. A large amount of material collected on this issue (Krushinsky) showed that dogs raised in kennels have a less pronounced active-defensive reaction than dogs raised by private individuals. Growing puppies in nurseries where access is limited unauthorized persons, have less opportunity to develop an active defensive reaction than puppies raised by amateurs. Hence the difference in the active-defensive reaction that is observed in dogs, both of these groups, raised in different conditions. The above examples confirm the enormous dependence of the formation of passive and active defensive reactions on the conditions of raising a puppy, as well as the variability of complex unconditional reflex behavior under the influence of the external conditions in which the dog lives and is raised. These examples indicate the need for careful attention to the conditions in which puppies are raised. Isolated or partially isolated conditions for raising puppies contribute to the formation of a dog with a passive-defensive reaction, which is unsuitable for some types of service dogs. Creation the right conditions raising puppies, which would provide them with constant acquaintance with all the diversity of the outside world and give the puppy the opportunity to demonstrate its active-defensive reaction (the first manifestations of which begin as early as one and a half to two months), helps to raise a dog with a developed active-defensive reaction and the absence of passive defensive. However, it must be borne in mind that individual dogs raised in the same conditions exhibit differences in the manifestation of defensive reactions, which depends on the innate individual characteristics of the parents. Therefore, when improving the conditions for raising puppies, it is necessary to pay special attention to the selection of parents. Of course, animals with a passive-defensive reaction cannot be used as breeders for producing service dogs. We examined the role of a dog’s individual experience in the formation of complex unconditioned reflex defensive behavior. However, the formation of other unconditioned reflexes in response to certain stimuli is closely dependent on the individual experience of the dog. Let's take the food unconditioned reflex as an example. It should seem obvious to everyone that a dog's food reaction to meat is an unconditioned reflex. However, experiments conducted by one of the students of Academician I.P. Pavlov showed that this is not so. It turned out that dogs raised on a diet devoid of meat, when given a piece of meat for the first time, did not react to it as an edible substance. However, as soon as such a dog put a piece of meat in its mouth once or twice, it swallowed it and after that already reacted to it as a food substance. Thus, the manifestation of a food reflex even to such a seemingly natural irritant as meat requires, albeit a very short, but still individual experience.

Thus, the above examples show that the manifestation of complex unconditioned reflexes depends on previous life.

Let us now dwell on the concept of instinct.

Instinct is understood as the complex actions of an animal, leading without prior training to best fit it to certain environmental conditions. A duckling meeting water for the first time will swim in exactly the same way as an adult duck; a swift chick, flying out of the nest for the first time, has perfect flight techniques; young migratory birds with the onset of autumn they fly south - all these are examples of so-called instinctive actions that ensure the animal’s adaptation to certain and constant conditions of its life. Academician I.P. Pavlov, comparing instincts with complex unconditioned reflexes, pointed out that there is no difference between them. He wrote: “both reflexes and instincts are natural reactions of the body to certain agents, and therefore there is no need to designate them in different words. The word reflex has an advantage, because from the very beginning it was given a strictly scientific meaning.” Can these innate, unconditional reflex acts of animal behavior fully ensure its existence? This question has to be answered in the negative. Despite the fact that unconditioned reflexes are capable of ensuring the normal existence of a newly born animal, they are completely insufficient for the normal existence of a growing or adult animal. This is clearly proven by the experience of removing the cerebral hemispheres of a dog, i.e., the organ that is associated with the possibility of acquiring individual experience. A dog with the hemispheres of the brain removed eats and drinks, if you bring food and water to its mouth, exhibits a defensive reaction when painful irritation, urinates and excretes feces. But at the same time, such a dog is deeply disabled, completely incapable of independent existence and adaptation to living conditions, for such adaptation is achieved only with the help of individually acquired reflexes, the occurrence of which is associated with the cerebral cortex. Unconditioned reflexes are thus the basis, the foundation on which all animal behavior is built. But they alone are still insufficient for the adaptation of higher vertebrate animals to the conditions of existence. The latter is achieved with the help of so-called conditioned reflexes, which are formed during the life of the animal on the basis of its unconditioned reflexes.

1. 1. Introduction3
2. 2. Physiology of unconditioned reflexes3
3. 3. Classification of unconditioned reflexes5
4. 4. The importance of unconditioned reflexes for the body7
5. 5. Conclusion7

References8

Introduction

Unconditioned reflexes are hereditarily transmitted (innate), inherent to the entire species. Execute protective function, as well as the function of maintaining homeostasis.

Unconditioned reflexes are an inherited, unchangeable reaction of the body to external and internal signals, regardless of the conditions for the occurrence and course of reactions. Unconditioned reflexes ensure the body's adaptation to constant environmental conditions. Are species behavioral sign. The main types of unconditioned reflexes: food, protective, orienting.

An example of a defensive reflex is the reflexive withdrawal of the hand from a hot object. Homeostasis is maintained, for example, by a reflex increase in breathing when there is excess carbon dioxide in blood. Almost every part of the body and every organ is involved in reflex reactions.

Physiology of unconditioned reflexes

An unconditioned reflex is an innate response of the body to irritation with the obligatory participation of the central nervous system (CNS). In this case, the cerebral cortex does not directly participate, but exercises its highest control over these reflexes, which allowed I.P. Pavlov to assert the presence of a “cortical representation” of each unconditioned reflex. Unconditioned reflexes are the physiological basis:

1. Human species memory, i.e. congenital, inherited, constant, common to the entire human species;

2. Lower nervous activity (LNA). NND from the point of view of unconditioned reflexes is an unconditioned reflex activity that provides the body with the unification of its parts into a single functional whole. Another definition of NND. NND is a set of neurophysiological processes that ensure the implementation of unconditioned reflexes and instincts.

Protozoa neural networks, or arcs (according to Sherrington), involved in unconditioned reflexes, are closed in the segmental apparatus of the spinal cord, but can also be closed higher (for example, in the subcortical ganglia or in the cortex). Other parts of the nervous system are also involved in reflexes: the brain stem, cerebellum, and cerebral cortex.

The arcs of unconditioned reflexes are formed at the time of birth and remain throughout life. However, they can change under the influence of illness. Many unconditioned reflexes appear only at a certain age; Thus, the grasping reflex characteristic of newborns fades away at the age of 3-4 months.

There are monosynaptic (involving the transmission of impulses to the command neuron through one synaptic transmission) and polysynaptic (involving the transmission of impulses through chains of neurons) reflexes.

Approximate unconditioned reflexes, occurring with the direct participation of the cerebral cortex, are physiological mechanisms of human cognitive activity and involuntary attention. In addition, the extinction of orientation reflexes constitutes the physiological basis of addiction and boredom. Habituation is the extinction of the orienting reflex: if the stimulus is repeated many times and does not have special significance for the body, the body stops reacting to it, addiction develops. So, a person living on a noisy street gradually gets used to the noise and no longer pays attention to it.

Instincts are a form of innate behavior. Physiological mechanism they are a chain of innate unconditioned reflexes, into which, under the influence of individual life conditions, links of acquired conditioned reflexes can be “woven”.

Rice. 1. Scheme of organization of instinctive behavior: S - stimulus, P - reception, P - behavioral act; the dotted line is the modulating influence, the solid line is the activity of the modulating system as an evaluative authority.

Reflection as the essence of the psyche occurs at different levels. There are three levels of brain activity: specific, individual and socio-historical. Reflection at the species level is carried out by unconditioned reflexes.

The concept of “drive and drive reflex” by the Polish physiologist and psychologist J. Konorski played a significant role in the development of the theoretical foundations of the organization of behavior. According to the theory of Yu. Konorsky, brain activity is divided into executive and preparatory, and all reflex processes fall into two categories: preparatory (incentive, drive, motivational) and executive (consummatory, consummatory, reinforcing).

Executive functioning involves many specific responses to many specific stimuli, so this activity is provided by the cognitive or gnostic system, which includes the stimulus recognition system. Preparatory activity is associated with less specific reactions and is more controlled by the internal needs of the body. It is anatomically and functionally different from the system responsible for perception and cognitive activity, learning, and is called by Yu. Konorsky the emotive, or motivational system.

The cognitive and emotive systems are served by different brain structures.

Most unconditioned reflexes are complex reactions that include several components. So, for example, with an unconditioned defensive reflex caused in a dog by strong electrodermal irritation of the limb, along with defensive movements, breathing also increases and increases, cardiac activity accelerates, vocal reactions appear (squealing, barking), the blood system changes (leukocytosis, thrombocytosis and etc.). The food reflex also distinguishes between its motor (grasping food, chewing, swallowing), secretory, respiratory, cardiovascular and other components.

So, the most complex unconditioned reflexes are an innate holistic behavioral act, a systemic morphophysiological formation that includes stimulating and reinforcing components (preparatory and executive reflexes). Instinctive behavior is realized by external and internal determinants by “evaluating” the relationships between significant components of the environment and the internal state of the organism, determined by the actualized need.

Classification of unconditioned reflexes

The entire set of unconditioned and conditioned reflexes formed on their basis is usually divided into a number of groups according to their functional significance. The main ones are nutritional, defensive, sexual, statokinetic and locomotor, orientation, maintaining homeostasis and some others. Food reflexes include reflex acts of swallowing, chewing, sucking, salivation, secretion of gastric and pancreatic juice, etc. Defensive reflexes are reactions to eliminate damaging and painful stimuli. The group of sexual reflexes includes all reflexes associated with sexual intercourse; This group also includes the so-called parental reflexes associated with feeding and nursing the offspring. Statokinetic and locomotor reflexes are reflex reactions of maintaining a certain position and movement of the body in space. Reflexes that support the preservation of homeostasis include thermoregulatory, respiratory, cardiac and those vascular reflexes that help maintain a constant blood pressure, and some others. The orienting reflex occupies a special place among unconditioned reflexes. This is a reflex to novelty.

It occurs in response to any fairly quickly occurring fluctuation in the environment and is expressed externally in alertness, listening to a new sound, sniffing, turning the eyes and head, and sometimes the whole body towards the emerging light stimulus, etc. The implementation of this reflex provides better perception of the acting agent and has important adaptive significance. This reaction is innate and does not disappear when complete removal cerebral cortex in animals; it is also observed in children with underdeveloped cerebral hemispheres - anencephals. The difference between the orienting reflex and other unconditioned reflex reactions is that it fades away relatively quickly with repeated applications of the same stimulus. This feature of the orientation reflex depends on the influence of the cerebral cortex on it.

Rice. 1. Comparison of the most complex unconditioned reflexes (instincts) of higher animals with human needs: double arrows - phylogenetic connections the most complex reflexes animals with human needs, dotted lines - the interaction of human needs, solid lines - the influence of needs on the sphere of consciousness

The importance of unconditioned reflexes for the body

The meaning of unconditioned reflexes:

♦ maintaining a constant internal environment (homeostasis);

♦ maintaining the integrity of the body (protection from damaging environmental factors);

♦ reproduction and preservation of the species as a whole.

Conclusion

Unconditioned reflexes, the formation of which is completed in postnatal ontogenesis, are genetically predetermined and strictly adjusted to certain, appropriate this species environmental conditions.

Congenital reflexes are characterized by a stereotypical species-specific sequence of implementation of a behavioral act. They arise at their first need, with the appearance of a “specific” stimulus for each of them, thereby ensuring the steady performance of the most vital functions of the body, regardless of random, transient environmental conditions. Characteristic feature unconditioned reflexes is that their implementation is determined by both internal determinants and an external stimulus program.

As noted by P.V. Simonov, the definition of an unconditioned reflex as hereditary, unchangeable, the implementation of which is machine-like and independent of the achievements of its adaptive goal, is usually exaggerated. Its implementation depends on the existing functional state of the animal and correlates with the currently dominant need. It may fade or intensify.

Satisfying a variety of needs would have been impossible if, in the process of evolution, a specific overcoming reaction, the freedom reflex, had not arisen. Pavlov considered the fact that an animal resists coercion and attempts to limit its motor activity much deeper than just a type of defensive reaction. The freedom reflex is an independent active form of behavior for which an obstacle serves as no less an adequate stimulus than food for food search, pain for a defensive reaction, and a new and unexpected stimulus for an orienting reflex.

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