Conditioned reflexes : an investigation of the physiological activity of the cerebral cortex

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I. The development of the objective method in investigating the physiological activities of the cerebral hemispheres. Concept of reflex. Variety of reflexes. Signal-reflexes, the most fundamental physiological characteristic of the hemispheres

II. Technical methods employed in the objective investigation of the functions of the cerebral hemispheres. Response to signals as reflex action. Unconditioned and conditioned reflexes. Necessary conditions for the development of conditioned reflexes

III. The formation of conditioned reflexes by means of conditioned and direct stimuli. Agencies which can be used as conditioned stimuli. Inhibition of conditioned reflexes: External inhibition

IV. Internal inhibition of conditioned reflexes: (a) Extinction

V. Internal inhibition (continued): (b) Conditioned inhibition

VI. Internal inhibition (continued): (c) Delay

VII. The analysing and synthesizing activity of the cerebral hemispheres: (a) The initial generalization of conditioned stimuli. (b) Differential inhibition

VIII. The analysing and synthesizing activity of the cerebral hemispheres (continued): (c) Examples of the analysis of stimuli. (d) Synthesis and analysis of compound simultaneous stimuli. (e) Synthesis and analysis of compound successive stimuli

IX. The irradiation and concentration of nervous processes in the cerebral cortex: (a) The irradiation and concentration of inhibition within a single analyser

X. Irradiation and concentration of nervous processes in the cerebral hemispheres (continued): (b) Irradiation and concentration of inhibition over the entire cortex. (c) Irradiation and concentration of excitation

XI. Mutual induction of excitation and inhibition: (a) Positive induction. (b) Negative induction

XII. Interaction of irradiation and concentration with induction

XIII. The cortex as a mosaic of functions: (a) Examples of the mosaic character of the cortex and the more obvious ways in which this character is acquired. (b) Variability of the physiological properties of different points of the cortex in some instances, stability in others. The cortex as a united complex dynamic system

XIV. The development of inhibition in the cortex under the influence of conditioned stimuli

XV. Internal inhibition and sleep as one and the same process with regard to their intimate mechanism

XVI. Transition stages between the alert state and complete sleep: Hypnotic stages

XVII. The different types of nervous system. Pathological disturbances of the cortex, result of functional interference

XVIII. Pathological disturbances of the cortex, result of functional interference (continued)

XIX. Pathological disturbances of the cortex, result of surgical interference: (a) General disturbances of the cortical activity; (b) Disturbances of the acoustic analyser

XX. Pathological disturbances of the cortex, result of surgical interference (continued): (c) In the visual analyser; (d) In the tactile cutaneous analyser; (e) Occurring after extirpation of the frontal lobes; (f) In the thermal cutaneous analyser; (g) Arising after extirpation of the gyrus pyriformis; (h) In the motor analyser

XXI. Pathological disturbances of the cortex, result of surgical interference (continued): Attempt to correlate the general post-operative behaviour of the animals with the disturbances in the activity of individual analysers

XXII. The general characteristics of the present investigation and its special difficulties. Discovery of certain errors necessitating the modification of some earlier interpretations

XXIII. The experimental results obtained with animals in their application to man

Bibliography

Index