The herd reflex appears gradually. Appearance one or a group of animals of its species is remembered as a positive environmental factor. It becomes the causative agent of the herd reflex in a young animal. The herd reflex is formed and exists on the basis of an innate defensive reflex. It is the feeling of greater security among others like oneself that is reinforced by a previously indifferent stimulus - the herd, turning it into a conditioned reflex. The herd reflex is developed in all animals of a given species and is fixed for life.
Similar reflexes called natural conditional, emphasizing with the word “natural” their closeness to the biological species characteristics of animals. These reflexes are characteristic of a given animal, just like the structure of its teeth or coloring. In addition to gregarious ones, these include many food, orientation, thermoregulatory and others.
Natural conditioned reflexes are formed in certain period animal life. In the first hours of life, babies learn to recognize their mother’s voice and appearance and remember the position of sucking milk. When researchers bottle-fed animals taken from their mothers immediately after birth, they began to treat them like parents: they followed them everywhere, and when they got hungry, they asked for food. Already as adults, such animals are not afraid, like others, when a person comes to the herd, but run up to him.
During the first weeks, reflexes are developed communication with animals of their own species (social). At a certain period of life, animals learn to distinguish edible food from unfit food. This often happens when watching the mother feed. Acquired skills last a lifetime and are difficult to change. So, in the 60s. last century about 5 thousand reindeer were transported from the tundra of Northern Kamchatka to the south into the taiga zone. As a result, almost all of these deer died of starvation. According to the shepherds, they only knew how to get food from under the snow, but did not think of eating lichens hanging on trees - one of the main food in the taiga zone.
The idea of natural conditioned reflexes is associated with the development of the idea of the heterogeneity of natural stimuli as stimuli for animal behavior. In the experiments of D.A. Biryukov's ducks, who had previously had great difficulty remembering signals such as a bell, after two or three repetitions developed a conditioned reflex to clap on the water, which obviously reminded them of the flapping of the wings of a duck taking off from the water. YES. Biryukov proposed calling such signals adequate stimuli, thereby emphasizing the correspondence of these signals to the entire mood of the nervous system of a given animal ( Baskin, 1977). It is the adequate stimuli in to a greater extent determine the behavior of animals in nature. The structure of the body of animals and the characteristics of their sensory organs are evolutionarily adapted to perceive and respond to such signals.
An animal with a sufficient set of natural conditioned reflexes already prepared to survive. However, his training does not end there. A whole series of conditioned reflexes are also needed, detailing the animal’s familiarity with the environment.
It is necessary to distinguish a group of conditioned reflexes that are developed in all animals included in a given herd, and more random reflexes, without which the animal can often live. For example, all animals remember the methods of obtaining food characteristic of a given area, seasonal feeding grounds, migration routes, and methods of escape from predators. The following examples can be given:
- the ability of many ungulates to replenish the lack of salts in the body sea water or from mineral springs and deposits of brackish clays;
- seasonal migrations of fish from baiting sites to spawning sites;
- perception by many animals of bird calls as a signal of the approach of a predator;
- departure of ungulates when predators attack inaccessible rocks.
A significant part of such skills is acquired as a result of imitation of parents or older comrades.
Mediated learning
Almost all species of mammals and birds, as well as many species of fish, have a phenomenon that we call indirect learning: this is the mutual learning of animals, the acquisition by them of new elements of behavior through communication, which increase the stability and “reliability” of the population in the struggle for existence. Vicarious learning usually occurs on the basis of animals' innate ability to imitate, often reinforced by specific signaling and reinforced by memory. We can talk about two types of mediated learning, constantly intertwining and complementing each other: learning in non-family groups of animals and learning in family groups.
Signal continuity. In the postnatal period, learning in family groups is most important. The training of young animals by their parents, well developed in birds and mammals, leads to a certain family continuity of behavioral traditions, which is why it is called signal continuity.
This phenomenon occurs as a result of the so-called biological contact of generations and represents a purely functional continuity of adaptive reactions. At the same time, previous generations, through learning, pass on to subsequent generations the information they have accumulated and the corresponding behavioral characteristics. These characteristics themselves are not fixed genetically, but are persistently transmitted to offspring due to imitation of parents or with the help of special signaling. Signal continuity has become, as it were, an additional link between the innate elements of behavior, which are relatively stable, and the individually acquired elements, which are extremely labile. It has significantly enriched and improved the behavioral complex of animals, combining the experience of many generations and contributing to the formation of diverse and complex signaling in them.
The basis of such training is imprinting. It is the imprinting of parents and the desire to obey and imitate them for a certain period of time that creates a solid basis for signal continuity. What follows the whole system education of these young animals, including imitation, following, a whole series of signals, and often rewards and punishments. In some vertebrates this period of learning does not last long, but in others it is very long time.
Representatives of the class of fish, as a rule, do not have signal continuity, although, as shown above, learning in schools (“group learning”) occurs very widely among them.
In birds, signal continuity is very developed. It is known that almost all of their species - both chicks and broods - raise their chicks and train them. This training covers wide areas of life: protection from enemies, feeding and obtaining food, flight, orientation, many signals, features of singing, etc.
K. Lorenz (1970) describes the peculiarities of training chicks in jackdaws and concludes: “An animal, not aware from birth by instinct about its enemies, receives information from older and more experienced individuals of its species about who and what should be feared. This is truly a tradition, broadcast individual experience, acquired knowledge from generation to generation." Describing the training of chicks by parents in passerine birds, A.N. Promptov comes to the conclusion that "from generation to generation, a rather complex “arsenal” of skills is passed on, constituting the biological “traditions of the species” that are not hereditary, but for the most part representing precisely the most subtle “balancing” of the organism with environmental conditions" ( Manteuffel, 1980).
In breeding birds, from the very first day of life, chicks follow their mother everywhere, imitating her, copying her movements and obeying her signals. Thus, they quickly learn objects and methods of feeding, as well as recognition of their enemies and methods of defense (hiding) when alarms females.
In nestling birds, two periods of signal continuity can be distinguished. First - initial period
- from hatching to leaving the nest. This is the period of imprinting the parents and the environment. Second - active period, when fledged chicks leave the nest, learn to fly and follow their parents, obeying their signals. It is during this active period that the chicks form a huge number of conditioned reflexes and the main behavioral traits of an adult bird are formed. At the same time, parents, of course, unconsciously, often act according to certain programs.
Thus, a brood of grebes, having left the nest, alternates swimming and diving in the water with heating on the back of the parents. The bird throws the chicks into the water and regulates their swimming time, preventing them from returning to its back. As the chicks grow, the adult bird increases their time in the water.
B.P. Manteuffel (1980) observed a male great tit training his flight chicks to maneuver in the following way. He took a piece of food from an experimental feeder and, flying up to the chicks sitting on a branch, sat down nearby, and then flew away, maneuvering between the branches, the whole flock of chicks flying behind him. After some time, the male sat on a branch and gave a piece to the first chick that flew up. This was repeated many times. The female Great Spotted Woodpecker, taking a piece of bread from the same feeder, flew, accompanied by the chick, to her “forge,” inserted a piece there and flew away to the side, as if teaching the chick to use the “forge.” Similar examples many can be cited.
Many traits in the behavior of birds included in the “species stereotype of their behavior” are formed in ontogenesis based on mediated learning and signal continuity. This was well illustrated by the example of singing and some acoustic signals of birds that have a certain species stereotype in nature. Thus, the observations of A. Promptov and E. Lukina showed that in passerine birds, which are distinguished by a simplified song, for example: greenfinch, common bunting, tree pipit, etc., normal song formation occurs without influence from the “teacher”. However, in most bird species that have a more complex song, it cannot be formed without imitating the song of adult males of their species. For the formation of normal singing, it is necessary that from the first days of life the chick has the opportunity to hear a male singing nearby. Young animals raised in isolation develop abortive singing, sometimes very different from the song of individuals of their own species. In the absence of nearby singing males, juvenile chirping persists for a long time - up to three years.
K.A. Wilks and E.K. Wilkes (1958) had a huge and extraordinary interesting work by the mass transfer of eggs and chicks of some bird species into the nests of other species. As a result of this work, it turned out that in a number of cases, male chicks later turned out to be “behavioral hybrids”; morphologically they had all the characteristics of their main parents, and their songs corresponded to those of foster parents. Thus, some pied flycatchers sang like redstarts, others - like great tits, and still others - like warblers. Although in nature these chicks, both in the nesting and post-nesting periods, had the opportunity to hear the songs of many birds (including birds of their own species), they, as a rule, imitated only their adoptive parents. Thus, imitation appears to be decisive in the formation of the song of the studied songbirds. This process occurs mainly after the young bird leaves the nest, i.e. during the active period of signal continuity. The song formed in the first year does not change in subsequent years.
Local bird songs different regions represent the result of learning and creating local acoustic family lines. Thus, the Kursk, Oryol and Voronezh nightingales are widely known to lovers of bird singing.
Signal continuity in mammals is no less developed. It, just like in birds, begins with imprinting and following reactions. Parental training of young has been described for many species. These are otters, wolves, bears, dolphins, etc.
Indirect learning is of great biological importance for both sexual and maternal behavior.
Divided according to several criteria
By nature of education conditioned reflexes are divided into:
- Natural conditioned reflexes are formed on the basis of natural unconditioned stimuli (view, food, etc.); they do not require for their education large quantity combinations, are durable, persist throughout life and thus approach unconditioned reflexes. Natural conditioned reflexes are formed from the first moment after birth.
- Artificial conditioned reflexes are produced on , not having biological significance, as well as those not directly related to this unconditional, which do not naturally have the properties of the stimulus that causes this (for example, you can develop a food reflex to a flashing light). Artificial conditioned reflexes are developed more slowly than natural ones and quickly fade away if there is no reinforcement.
By type of unconditional, i.e., according to their biological significance, conditioned reflexes are divided into:
- Food
- Defensive
- Genital
According to the nature of the activity caused conditioned reflexes are divided into:
- positive , causing a certain conditioned reflex;
- negative or inhibitory , the conditioned reflex effect of which is the active cessation of conditioned reflex activity.
By methods and type of reinforcement highlight:
- First order reflexes – these are reflexes in which an unconditioned reflex is used as reinforcement;
- Second order reflexes - these are reflexes in which previously developed strong ones are used as reinforcement. Accordingly, on the basis of these reflexes it is possible to develop conditioned reflex of the third order, fourth order etc.
- Reflexes higher order – these are reflexes in which the previously developed strong conditioned reflex of the second (third, fourth) is used as reinforcement etc.) order. It is this type of conditioned reflexes that are formed in children and form the basis for their development. mental activity. The formation of higher order reflexes depends on the perfect organization of the nervous system. In dogs it is possible to develop conditioned reflexes of the fourth order, and in monkeys of even higher orders, in adults - up to 20 orders. In addition, conditioned reflexes of higher orders are formed the easier the more excitable the nervous system is, as well as the stronger the unconditioned reflex on the basis of which the first-order reflex is developed. Conditioned reflexes of higher orders are unstable and easily fade away.
According to the nature and complexity of the conditioned stimulus highlight:
- Simple conditioned reflexes are produced under the isolated action of single stimuli - light, sound, etc.
- Complex conditioned reflexes – under the action of a complex of stimuli consisting of several components acting either simultaneously or sequentially, directly one after the other or at short intervals.
- Chain conditioned reflexes are produced by a chain of stimuli, each component of which acts in isolation after the previous one, not coinciding with it, and causes its own conditioned reflex reaction.
According to the ratio of the time of action of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli conditioned reflexes are divided into two groups:
- Cash conditioned reflexes, when the conditioned signal and reinforcement coincide in time. With a matching conditioned reflex reinforcement is immediately attached to the signal stimulus (no later than 1-3 s), when delayed conditioned reflex – within a period of up to 30 s, and in the case delayed reflex, the isolated action of the conditioned reflex lasts 1-3 minutes.
- Trace conditioned reflexes when reinforcement is presented only after the end of the conditioned stimulus. Based on the size of the interval between the action of stimuli, existing reflexes are, in turn, divided into coinciding, delayed and delayed. Trace conditioned reflexes are formed when reinforcement follows after the end of the action of the conditioned stimulus and, therefore, are combined only with trace processes of excitation that arose during the action of the conditioned stimulus. Conditioned reflexes for time – a special type of trace conditioned reflexes. They are formed during a regular unconditioned stimulus and can be produced at various time intervals - from several seconds to several hours and even days. Apparently, various periodic processes occurring in the body can serve as a guide in counting time. The phenomenon of the body keeping time is often called the “biological clock.”
By the nature of the reception highlight:
- Exteroceptive conditioned reflexes are produced in response to stimuli external environment, addressing exteroceptors (visual, auditory). These reflexes play a role in the body’s relationship with the environment, and therefore are formed relatively quickly.
- Interoceptive are formed by a combination of irritation internal organs with some kind of unconditioned reflex. They are produced much more slowly and are highly inert.
- reflexes occur when stimulation of proprioceptors is combined with an unconditioned reflex (for example, flexing a dog’s paw, reinforced by food).
By the nature of the efferent response conditioned reflexes are divided into two types:
- Somatomotor. A conditioned reflex motor reaction can manifest itself in the form of movements such as blinking, chewing, etc.
- Vegetative. Conditioned reactions of vegetative conditioned reflexes are manifested in changes in the activity of various internal organs - heart rate, breathing, changes in the lumen of blood vessels, metabolic levels, etc. For example, in a clinic, alcoholics are quietly injected with a substance that causes vomiting, and when it begins to act, they are given a sniff of vodka. They start vomiting, and they think it’s from the vodka. After numerous repetitions, they begin to vomit from just one type of vodka without this substance.
A special group includes imitative conditioned reflexes , characteristic feature which is that they are produced in an animal or a person without his active participation in the production process, they are formed by observing the development of these reflexes in another animal or person. Based on the imitative reflex, children develop speech motor acts and many social skills.
L.V. Krushinsky identified a group of conditioned reflexes, which he called extrapolation. Their peculiarity is that motor reactions arise not only in response to a specific conditioned stimulus, but also in the direction of its movement. Anticipation of the direction of movement occurs from the first presentation of the stimulus without prior preparation. Currently, the extrapolation reflex used to study complex forms not only of animals, but also of humans. This methodical technique has found wide application for studying brain activity in human ontogenesis. Its use on twins makes it possible to talk about the role of genetic factors in the implementation of behavioral reactions.
A special place in the system of conditioned reflexes is occupied by temporary connections that are closed between indifferent stimuli (when combined, for example, light and sound), called . In this case, the unconditioned reinforcement is the indicative reaction. The formation of these temporary connections occurs in three stages: the stage of the emergence of an orienting reaction to both stimuli, the stage of development of a conditioned orienting reflex, and the stage of extinction of the orienting reaction to both stimuli. After extinction, the connection between these stimuli remains. Special meaning This type of reaction occurs for a person, since a person forms many connections precisely with the help of associations.
Conditioned reflex is an acquired reflex characteristic of to an individual(individuals). They arise during the life of an individual and are not fixed genetically (not inherited). They appear under certain conditions and disappear in their absence. They are formed on the basis of unconditioned reflexes with the participation of higher parts of the brain. Conditioned reflex reactions depend on past experience, on the specific conditions in which the conditioned reflex is formed.
The study of conditioned reflexes is associated primarily with the name of I. P. Pavlov and the students of his school. They showed that a new conditioned stimulus can trigger a reflex response if it is presented for some time together with an unconditioned stimulus. For example, if a dog is allowed to sniff meat, then gastric juice is released (this is an unconditioned reflex). If, simultaneously with the appearance of meat, a bell rings, then the dog’s nervous system associates this sound with food, and gastric juice will be highlighted in response to the call, even if no meat is presented. This phenomenon was discovered independently by Edwin Twitmyer at approximately the same time as in the laboratory of I. P. Pavlov. Conditioned reflexes are the basis acquired behavior. This is the most simple programs. The world is constantly changing, so only those who quickly and expediently respond to these changes can live successfully in it. As you purchase life experience A system of conditioned reflex connections is formed in the cerebral cortex. Such a system is called dynamic stereotype. It underlies many habits and skills. For example, having learned to skate or bicycle, we subsequently no longer think about how we should move so as not to fall.
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Human Anatomy: Conditioned Reflexes
Conditioned reflexes
Higher nervous activity
Subtitles
Formation of a conditioned reflex
To do this you need:
- The presence of 2 stimuli: an unconditioned stimulus and an indifferent (neutral) stimulus, which then becomes a conditioned signal;
- Certain strength of stimuli. The unconditioned stimulus must be so strong as to cause dominant excitation in the central nervous system. The indifferent stimulus must be familiar so as not to cause a pronounced orienting reflex.
- A repeated combination of stimuli over time, with the indifferent stimulus acting first, then the unconditioned stimulus. Subsequently, the action of the two stimuli continues and ends simultaneously. A conditioned reflex will occur if an indifferent stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus, that is, it signals the action of an unconditioned stimulus.
- Constancy environment- the development of a conditioned reflex requires constancy of the properties of the conditioned signal.
The mechanism of formation of conditioned reflexes
At action of an indifferent stimulus excitation occurs in the corresponding receptors, and impulses from them enter the brain section of the analyzer. When exposed to an unconditioned stimulus, specific excitation of the corresponding receptors occurs, and impulses through the subcortical centers go to the cerebral cortex (cortical representation of the center of the unconditioned reflex, which is the dominant focus). Thus, two foci of excitation simultaneously arise in the cerebral cortex: In the cerebral cortex, a temporary reflex connection is formed between two foci of excitation according to the dominant principle. When a temporary connection occurs, the isolated action of the conditioned stimulus causes unconditional reaction. In accordance with Pavlov's theory, the consolidation of temporary reflex communication occurs at the level of the cerebral cortex, and it is based on the principle of dominance.
Types of conditioned reflexes
There are many classifications of conditioned reflexes:
- If we base the classification on unconditioned reflexes, then they distinguish between food, protective, indicative, etc.
- If the classification is based on the receptors on which the stimuli act, exteroceptive, interoceptive and proprioceptive conditioned reflexes are distinguished.
- Depending on the structure of the used conditioned stimulus, simple and complex (complex) conditioned reflexes are distinguished.
IN real conditions In the functioning of the body, as a rule, it is not individual, single stimuli that act as conditioned signals, but their temporal and spatial complexes. And then the conditioned stimulus is a complex of environmental signals. - There are conditioned reflexes of the first, second, third, etc. order. When a conditioned stimulus is reinforced by an unconditioned one, a first-order conditioned reflex is formed. A second-order conditioned reflex is formed if a conditioned stimulus is reinforced by a conditioned stimulus to which a conditioned reflex was previously developed.
- Natural reflexes are formed in response to stimuli that are natural, accompanying properties of the unconditional stimulus on the basis of which they are developed. Natural conditioned reflexes, compared to artificial ones, are easier to form and more durable.
Notes
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov's school conducted vivisector experiments not only on dogs, but also on people. Street children aged 6–15 years were used as laboratory material. These were tough experiments, but they were the ones that made it possible to understand the nature of human thinking. These experiments were carried out in the children's clinic of the 1st LMI, in the Filatov hospital, in the hospital named after. Rauchfus, in the Department of Experimental Pediatrics of the IEM, as well as in several orphanages. are essential information. In two works by N. I. Krasnogorsky “Development of the doctrine of physiological activity brain in children" (L., 1939) and "Higher nervous activity of a child" (L., 1958). Professor Mayorov, who was the official chronicler of the Pavlovian school, noted melancholy: "Some of our employees expanded the range of experimental objects and began studying conditioned reflexes in other species of animals; in fish, ascidians, birds, lower monkeys, as well as children" (F. P. Mayorov, "History of the doctrine of conditioned reflexes". M., 1954). "laboratory material" of a group of Pavlov's students (Prof. N. I. Krasnogorsky , A.G. Ivanov-Smolensky, I. Balakirev, M.M. Koltsova, I. Kanaev) became street children. Full understanding at all levels was ensured by the Cheka.A. A. Yushchenko in his work “Conditioned Reflexes of a Child” (1928 All this is confirmed by protocols, photographs and documentary film“Mechanics of the Brain” (another title is “Animal and Human Behavior”; directed by V. Pudovkin, camera by A. Golovnya, produced by the Mezhrabprom-Rus film factory, 1926)
There is a wide variety of reflexes that differ depending on the response of conditioned stimuli and the type of receptors that perceive the irritation. Depending on the response, vegetative and somatomotor conditioned reflexes are distinguished. Conditioned reflexes, in which the reflex response is manifested in the activity of internal organs, are classified as vegetative(food, respiratory, cardiovascular, etc.). Conditioned reflexes associated with the activity of skeletal muscles are classified as somatomotor.
Conditioned reflexes can be formed in the natural conditions of an animal’s life under the influence of natural stimuli. For example, the formation of a conditioned food reflex to the sight and smell of food. Conditioned reflexes developed to these stimuli are called natural. Natural conditioned reflexes are quickly formed and are highly stable. But a signal for food (or another type of activity) can be any stimulus that is not naturally associated with food intake (for example, light, sound, temperature changes, etc.). Conditioned reflexes to such stimuli are called artificial.
Any irritants that nerve impulses enter the cortex big brain from external and internal environment, at a certain strength, they can acquire signal values, that is, conditioned reflexes can be developed on them. They are formed both in response to single stimuli and to a complex, which is more common in the natural conditions of life of an organism. The relationship between the conditioned stimulus and reinforcement, which developed during the formation of the conditioned reflex, determines its form. In cases where the conditioned stimulus and reinforcement act simultaneously, reflexes are formed, called matching. When reinforcement is given some time after the onset of the conditioned stimulus (1-3 minutes), such conditioned reflexes are called lagging.
Conditioned reflexes can also be formed when unconditional reinforcement is given through significantly longer time, something that is necessary for the formation of delayed reflexes. They are so called because a temporary connection is formed not on direct excitation, but on its trace processes that continue in the neurons of the cerebral cortex after the cessation of the action of the conditioned stimulus. Reflexes of this type are great importance to establish a certain sequence of processes in the body, for example, to form motor skills, in which each motor act is a conditioned stimulus for the transition to execution the following elements skill. This makes it possible to transform skills into a highly automated system of conditioned reflexes. Complex shape trace reflexes are conditioned timed reflexes. There are conditioned reflexes that are developed for a certain period of time and for certain time days (conditioned reflex increase in the secretion of digestive juices during meals, performance during work hours). The formation of reflexes for time is based on periodic changes physiological functions in the body throughout the day. In this case, the reference point for short periods of time is high-quality periodic oscillations physiological functions (contraction of the heart, respiratory rate, periodic changes in the functioning of the digestive organs), and for reflexes at a certain time of day - daily periodic fluctuations in the intensity of physiological processes.
Of great importance for the formation of skills are imitation conditioned reflexes, formed as a result of copying the movements and activities of adults.
Conditioned reflexes of higher orders. These are reflexes formed when a conditioned stimulus is combined with a previously formed and well-established conditioned reflex. For example, a dog developed a conditioned food reflex to the sound of a metronome (reflex first order), over time, combining the sound of a metronome (without reinforcing it with food) with the inclusion of light, you can develop a conditioned food reflex second order to a light stimulus. In humans, it is possible to develop a conditioned reflex of any order, while in animals, for example, dogs, only the third and fourth order, and this is provided that their first-order reflex was formed on the basis protective reflex. Reflexes of higher orders provide the most perfect adaptation to living conditions. It is common for humans, and to some extent higher animals, to foresee the outcome of certain events and to change their behavior according to the foreseen results. So, for example, a person, based on experience, correlating his speed and the speed of traffic, speeds up or slows down his movement in order to approach the stop in a timely manner.
So, there is a wide variety of conditioned reflexes. Depending on the response to conditioned stimuli, vegetative and somatomotor are distinguished; depending on the nature of the conditioned stimulus, natural and artificial conditioned reflexes are distinguished. In form, conditioned reflexes can be coincident, delayed, trace, timed reflexes, and others. In humans and higher animals it is possible to develop reflexes of the highest order, ensuring the most perfect adaptation to living conditions.
There are many various types conditioned reflexes. First of all, a distinction is made between natural and artificial conditioned reflexes. Natural called conditioned reflexes that arose in response to stimuli that, under natural conditions of life, act together with unconditioned stimuli. For example, the sight and smell of meat causes a food reaction in a dog with salivation. However, if a dog is not given meat from birth, when it first sees it, it will simply react to it as an unfamiliar object. And only after the dog eats meat will it have a conditioned reflex food reaction to its sight and smell.
Artificial are called specially developed conditioned reflexes to conditioned stimuli, which in Everyday life are not associated with this unconditioned stimulus. If you combine the sound of a bell with a blow electric shock, the dog will have a defensive pain reflex - when the bell sounds, it will withdraw its paw. This is an artificial conditioned reflex, since the sound of the bell is not at all endowed with the property of causing pain. You can develop a food reflex in another dog to the same sound by combining the bell with feeding.
Conditioned reflexes can be divided into groups depending on the unconditioned reflex on the basis of which they are formed: food, defensive, motor conditioned reflexes. Often conditioned reflexes, especially natural ones, are complex. For example, when a dog smells food, it not only salivates, but also runs to the source of the smell.
A conditioned reflex can be developed on the basis of not only an unconditioned, but also a well-established conditioned reflex. Such reflexes are called conditioned reflexes second order. The animal first develops a first-order reflex, for example, by combining the flashing of a light bulb with feeding. When this reflex becomes strong, a new stimulus is introduced, say the sound of a metronome, and its action is also reinforced by a conditioned stimulus - the blinking of a light bulb. After several such reinforcements, the sound of the metronome, which has never been combined with feeding, will begin to cause salivation. This will be a conditioned reflex of the second order. Food reflexes third order are not formed in dogs. But they can develop defensive (pain) conditioned reflexes of the third order. Fourth order reflexes cannot be obtained in dogs. In children preschool age there may even be conditioned reflexes sixth order.
Among the many varieties of conditioned reflexes, it is customary to classify them as a special group. instrumental reflexes . For example, in a dog, reinforcement of the lighting of a light bulb by the appearance of a feeder with food develops a conditioned reflex to light - saliva is secreted. After this, more difficult task: To get food after lighting the light bulb, she must press her paw on the pedal located in front of her. When the light is on and no food appears, the dog becomes agitated and accidentally steps on the pedal. A feeding trough immediately appears. When such experiments are repeated, a reflex is developed - in the light of a light bulb, the dog immediately presses the pedal and receives food. Such a reflex is called instrumental because it serves as a tool for reinforcing the conditioned stimulus.
Related information:
- A dynamic stereotype is a system of temporary nerve connections in the cerebral cortex, corresponding to the system of action of conditioned stimuli