The History of Neuroscience 6: Reflexes and Learning

A reflex is an involuntary physiological response evoked by external stimuli. Robert Whytt, though he believed in the spirit, identified neural pathways that elicit some actions, including pupillary light reflex. Bell and Magendie found ventral dorsal spinal roots responsible for separate motor sensory functions. Marshall Hall elucidated medullary control of complex behaviors. Charles Sherrington explained detail integrative nature reflexes, importance both excitation inhibition. Reflexes became recognized as important factors mental process through contributions Ivan Sechenov. He highlighted simple reflexes were fundamental blocks create more Pavlov discovered presence learned (conditional) well inborn ones, which had a major impact on development psychology. proposed all behavior was long chain conditioned reflexes. Donald Hebb brilliantly described synapses key sites creating memory, involve large circuits activities. Key words: Reflex; Reciprocal response; Complex behavior; Learned reflex; Synapses.