The meaning of the approximate reaction in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, BSE. Indicative reaction Registers provoking an indicative reaction
Reference pointOVocational reAction(reflex “What is it?”, according to I.P. Pavlov), a complex of shifts in different systems of the animal or human body, caused by any unexpected change in the situation and due to the special activity of the central nervous system. Changes in the activity of the central and autonomic nervous system during O. r. are aimed at mobilizing the analytical and motor systems of the body, which contributes to a quick and accurate assessment of a new situation and the development of an optimal control apparatus for a new non-automated action. At the same time, suppression of previous activity and turning of the head (ears, eyes) towards the stimulus occur. O. r. is accompanied by an increase in the level of adrenaline in the blood, a change in the electrical potential of the skin (galvanic skin reflex), an activation reaction (in the form of desynchronization of the slow electrical activity of the cerebral cortex) and a number of other phenomena that characterize the body’s preparation for action in a new situation. Functions not involved in such actions (for example, digestion) are inhibited. If a change in the situation is accompanied by unconditional irritation, that is, reinforced by it, then on the basis of O. r. a conditioned reflex can be developed; an indifferent stimulus becomes significant, significant for the organism. If a new stimulus turns out to be insignificant for the body, its repeated use leads to “addiction” and O. r. fades away.
O. r. plays an important role in the organization of higher nervous activity of animals and humans. According to modern ideas, the basis of O. r. there are activating influences on the higher parts of the central nervous system from the reticular formation. At the same time, the level of excitability of the corresponding zones of the cerebral cortex significantly increases, which creates favorable conditions for the formation of a conditioned reflex circuit in the cortex. In humans, O. r. participates in acts of varying degrees of complexity - from a reaction to any new agent to the most complex mental work, when, faced with an unexpected fact or thought, a person concentrates and mobilizes to comprehend them. The basis of the attention that arises in this case is the OR, which, according to V. M. Bekhterev, appears in the form of a “concentration reflex.” The role of O. r. in a person’s mental activity is more fully revealed when it is disrupted, for example, in schizophrenia. Loss of an important property of O. r. - its extinction with repetition of irritations - significantly reduces the possibility of adaptation to new conditions. In other cases, the presence of only the inhibitory component of the O. r. in the absence of its research form, it paralyzes the ability to analyze a new situation and respond adequately to it
Question 24. psychophysiology of speech processes. Inner speech. Non-verbal communications.
What is speech - a mental process; language is a means, an instrument that helps to realize speech. It has different forms - oral, written, internal and external
Speech is a complex form of mental activity characteristic of humans, through which communication occurs using language.
The center of speech functions is located in the same place as the auditory one - in the temporal lobe.
If you cut off or damage the frontal lobes (lobotomy), the person turns into a vegetable. His center of regulation of all centers of speech, thinking, perception, and recognition was deteriorating.
But different parts of the temporal lobes are responsible for speech.
The center of the speech function is the cortex of the temporal lobes of the cerebral hemispheres. In which 2 interconnected processes take place - encoding (formation of a speech message) and decoding (understanding of a speech message). It is in the temporal lobe that hearing perception is decoded, and we understand sounds that form phonemes, words into sentences, we can process them, encode them and transmit them using sounds.
And between them there are reciprocal arrows, which help to see that the speech process itself can go in two directions and transform into one another. Or maybe exactly the opposite, we accept the device, or written language, it goes into inner speech, decoding takes place and is understood.
And if there is an unfamiliar language that we do not speak, then the process will not work.
If we don’t speak this language well, then we may need additional tools - gestures, facial expressions, head movements, etc. (emotional speech)
The animal's reaction to novelty was first studied and called the orienting reflex in the school of I.P. Pavlova. It was shown that the occurrence of the orienting reflex is not associated with the sensory modality of the stimulus, that it can be subjected to extinction, and the mechanism of the latter is the generation of internal inhibition, that for all that it is innate, i.e., unconditioned, and is preserved in animals deprived of the cortex cerebral hemispheres, acquiring in this case special durability and inextinguishability (N.A. Popov, 1921, 1938; S.N. Chechulin, 1923; I.S. Rosenthal, 1929; G.P. Zeleny, 1930).
Initially, the orienting reflex was only the motor reaction of the animal towards a new or unusual stimulus (turning the head, moving the ears and eyes, etc.). Subsequently, a broader point of view became widespread, according to which the orientation reflex is a whole system of reactions integrated in a complex somatic-getative complex (E.N. Sokolov, 1958a, b; O.S. Vinogradova, 1959, 1961). Thus, the orienting reaction can be studied both by motor and vegetative and electrographic indicators, which, however, are not always consistent with each other (for example, the rate of extinction of various components of the orienting reaction may be different in the same subject).
The indicative reaction can be characterized by a number of parameters, each of which has a special functional meaning, apparently not always coinciding with the meaning of the others. Regarding each of them, one can assume a varying degree of connection with certain features of the nervous system. What are these parameters?
One of them is the threshold of the orienting reflex. Since the latter is always the result of sensory stimulation, the question arises about the minimum value of the stimulus that evokes a response in the form of an indicative reaction. Many authors have found that the threshold of the orienting reflex (mainly according to galvanic skin and electroencephalographic indicators) actually coincides with the threshold of sensation determined by the verbal reaction, in any case, before the orienting reaction begins to fade away upon repeated presentation of the stimulus (G.V. Gershuni, 1955; A. J. Derbyshire, J. S. Farley, 1959). But the threshold of sensation (see more about this below) reveals a connection with the strength of the nervous system (B.M. Teplov, 1955; V.D. Nebylitsyn, 1959a; V.I. Rozhdestvenskaya et al., 1960). Consequently, the threshold for the occurrence of an indicative reaction should correlate with indicators of the strength of the nervous system (relative to arousal).
Unfortunately, so far there has been no direct comparison of the corresponding indicators in the experiment, although, probably, the use of this technique would be useful in studying the relationship between sensitivity and strength of the nervous system in animals.
In a typological context, another parameter of the indicative reaction can be studied - its magnitude. Determining this parameter presents some difficulties, since the magnitude of the orienting reaction naturally decreases as presentations are repeated. Therefore, to take into account the magnitude of the orienting reflex, it is necessary to use one of the following indicators that approximately correspond to the task: 1) the magnitude of the reaction to the first presentation of a new stimulus, 2) the average magnitude of the reaction to a certain pre-fixed number of presentations of the stimulus, and finally, 3) the characteristic of the steepness of the curve depicting on the graph dynamics of extinction of the orienting reaction (function gradient). The simplest of these indicators is the first, and, as we will see later, it works quite well.
Finally, the third main parameter of the orienting reaction is the rate of its extinction with continued repetition of the stimulus. Extinction can be carried out to a certain, predetermined criterion, for example, until there is no response in a series of three or more presentations in a row (acute extinction) or until there are no responses in several successive trials (chronic extinction). This procedure closely resembles the extinction of a conditioned reflex. I.P. Pavlov assumed that it was also accompanied by the development of internal inhibition (1951–1952, vol. IV, p. 269) and, perhaps, in a physiological sense, means the same thing as the extinction of a conditioned reaction. Since, however, the orienting reflex is an unconditioned reaction, many foreign authors prefer to use the terms “habituation” and “adaptation” instead of the term “extinction.”
As already mentioned, each of the listed basic parameters of the orienting reaction probably has a typological significance, that is, it depends on some properties of the nervous system. Unfortunately, in Pavlov’s school - as during the life of I.P. Pavlov, and after his death - no systematic studies were carried out on the individual characteristics of orienting reactions, as well as the possible connection of these characteristics with the properties of the nervous system, although the data obtained along the way by some of the above-mentioned authors undoubtedly gave reason to think that that a number of features of the dynamics of the orienting reflex also reflect the properties of the animal’s nervous system. The available direct data on the comparison of the properties of the orienting reaction with the properties of the nervous system can be systematized as follows.
In 1933 N.V. Vinogradov described a dog of a weak type, which, according to the author’s observations, was characterized by an unquenchable orientation reflex. Since then, in the literature (M.S. Kolesnikov, 1953) there has been an opinion that animals with a weak type of nervous system are characterized by an undying indicative reaction to any environmental stimuli. Thus, according to this point of view, the rate of extinction of orientation is a function of the strength of the nervous system.
Another point of view (L.N. Stelmakh, 1956) connects the speed of extinction of the orienting reaction not with the strength of the nervous system, but with the mobility of nervous processes (determined by the speed of alteration). L.N. Stelmakh points out that, on the one hand, an unquenchable orientation reaction can also occur in dogs of a strong type, and on the other hand, extinction of orientation can be easily achieved in dogs with a weak nervous system. At the same time, a certain dependence of the rate of extinction on the property of mobility is revealed (although with significant exceptions). Unfortunately, the author does not provide quantitative values for the connection between the extinction of orientation and alteration. A significant drawback of the work is also that the study of the orienting reaction was carried out after the type of nervous system in dogs was determined, i.e., after many months of work with a variety of external stimuli.
E.A. Varukha (1953), comparing the dynamics of orienting reactions in dogs with the results of determining the properties of the nervous system using a small standard, found that an indicator such as a change in the value of the orienting reflex when the stimulus intensifies can be taken to assess the strength of the nervous system (relative to excitation), and the speed of extinction of orientation is not related to the strength of the nervous system relative to inhibition.
Works performed by L.G. Voronin, E.N. Sokolov and their employees (L.G. Voronin, G.I. Shirkova, 1949; L.G. Voronin, E.N. Sokolov, 1955; E.N. Sokolov et al., 1955; L.G. Voronin and al., 1959; W. Bao-Hua, 1958, 1959), drew attention to another aspect of the typological conditionality of orienting reactions, namely their connection with the balance of nervous processes. At the same time, as already indicated in Chap. II, although the authors talk about balance in strength, analysis of the tests they use allows us to conclude that we are talking, rather, about what we designate as balance of nervous processes in dynamism. Thus, in the work of W. Bao-Hua (1959), the referent indicator of balance was the number of erroneous actions when developing an elementary motor stereotype according to preliminary instructions, more precisely, the ratio of errors when presenting positive and negative components of the stereotype.
Neither this nor other tests provided for by N.A.’s methodology. Rokotova (1954), applied in this case by W. Bao-Hua, generally cannot give indicators of the strength (endurance) of the nervous system regarding excitation, as well as regarding inhibition, but some of them can be interpreted as reflecting the level of dynamism of nervous processes. In most of these works, we are talking about the rate of extinction of galvanic skin reactions, and the assumptions are that the rapid extinction of orientation according to the galvanic skin indicator indicates the predominance of the inhibitory process, and the slow extinction of GSR indicates the predominance of the excitatory process. The same assumption is contained in the work of A. Mundy-Castle and B. McKeever (A.S. Mundy-Castle, B. Z. McKiever, 1953), also performed using the galvanic skin indicator.
So, different authors associate certain indicators of the orienting reflex with various properties of the nervous system, and, as you can see, the main interest is in the speed of extinction of the reaction. What can you say about this?
The role of the strength of the nervous system in some characteristics of the orienting reaction can hardly be questioned. We have already talked about this when discussing the question of the threshold for the emergence of orientation. But the magnitude of the orienting reaction, apparently, also cannot, to some extent, not depend on the strength of the nervous system relative to excitation. Since a strong nervous system has less sensitivity, the relationship between strength and the magnitude of orientation should be inverse: individuals with a weak nervous system should have a more pronounced orientation reaction, especially when using stimuli of weak and medium intensity, which in the case of systems of different sensitivity will provide the greatest differences in physiological effect. Perhaps this is one of the reasons for the higher orienting activity, the “unquenchable” orienting reflex in some individuals of a weak type of nervous system - but, probably, only one of the reasons, and not the most significant one.
As for the connection between indicative reactions and the mobility of nervous processes, the available materials (L.N. Stelmakh, 1956) are insufficient to draw any definite conclusions on this issue. This, of course, does not mean that the assumption of such a connection should be rejected out of hand. This only means that it must be tested in an experimental comparison of relevant indicators.
The most substantiated views seem to be those that link some parameters of the orienting reaction with the balance of nervous processes (we would say, with balance in dynamism). At the same time, it may be necessary to keep in mind that the dynamism of the excitatory and the dynamism of the inhibitory processes, reflecting functionally different properties of the nervous substrate, can have different effects on different aspects of the orienting reflex.
As for the rate of extinction of orientation, it can be assumed to be a direct function of the dynamism of the inhibitory process. As already noted, I.P. Pavlov and his colleagues pointed out that the effect of extinction of the orienting reflex is completely similar to the effect of extinction of the conditioned reflex: similarities are observed both in the details of the processes themselves and in their results - both of them lead to the emergence of a drowsy and sleepy state, which owes its origin to the irradiation of the developed internal inhibition.
Analysis of the electrographic manifestations of the orientation reflex allowed E.N. Sokolov (1963) and O.S. Vinogradova (1961) put forward the assumption that the extinction of the orienting reaction itself is nothing more than a gradually developed conditioned reflex process, in which the conditioned stimulus is the beginning of the applied stimulus, which becomes a signal of its certain duration and its absence in the background.
Thus, the extinction of the orienting reflex leads to the formation of an inhibitory functional structure in the same way as the extinction of a conditioned reaction, which, as expected, leads to an increase in the selective activity of inhibitory synaptic apparatuses (E.N. Sokolov, N.P. Paramonova, 1961; P. V. Simonov, 1962). Just as in the case of a conditioned reaction, this inhibitory functional structure apparently develops primarily in the cerebral cortex: removal of the cortex, according to data obtained back in the school of I.P. Pavlova (G.P. Zeleny, 1930; N.A. Popov, 1938), and the data of the latest works (M. Jouvet, 1961), leads to the elimination of the mechanism of extinction of the orienting reaction, as a result of which, as E.N. points out. Sokolov (1963), the orienting reflex turns into the actual unconditioned reflex, devoid of conditioned reflex components and therefore not amenable to extinction.
Based on these data and considerations, we assume that the extinction of an orienting reaction, as well as the extinction of a conditioned reaction, is a function mainly of that property of the nervous system, which we designate as the dynamism of the inhibitory process: a high level of dynamism of inhibition leads to rapid extinction of orientation, at a low level of this property, extinction of orientation can be a very long process. Let us note again that the latter phenomenon may probably be a consequence not only of the low dynamism of the inhibitory process, but also of the high absolute sensitivity of the analyzer that perceives a sensory stimulus, which, when it reaches a given system, receives greater physiological efficiency; high sensitivity is inherent in a weak nervous system.
Some parameters of the orienting reaction may also depend on the dynamics of the excitatory process. In particular, the influence of the latter can be assumed in the magnitude of the orienting reaction at the first presentation of the stimulus. Indeed, if subsequent presentations of it lead to the development of conditioned inhibition, limiting the emerging excitation, then when the stimulus is first applied, this limitation has not yet been developed, or, in any case, not sufficiently. Therefore, the excitation that occurs during the first presentation of a signal, when the mechanisms of conditioned inhibition have not yet come into effect, will probably be characterized by greater amplitude, intensity and duration. Hence, in individuals with high dynamics of the excitatory process, we can expect more pronounced (in magnitude) indicative reactions to the first inclusion of a stimulus compared to individuals with low dynamics of the excitation process.
Based on some of the assumptions made, certain experimental data were obtained in the psychophysiology laboratory. Since these data each time have their own specifics according to the methodology used, we will consider them in several sections, devoting each to one of the methods used.
Sensory orienting reactions. A specific feature of sensory orienting reactions, i.e. changes in sensation thresholds (in our case, absolute thresholds) occurring according to the rules of the orienting reflex, is that in addition to the above parameters - threshold, magnitude and rate of extinction - they also have a direction parameter: indicative the reaction can be expressed either in a decrease or in an increase in absolute sensitivity, varying in this quality from subject to subject.
The work of L.B. Ermolaeva-Tomina (1957, 1959) showed this with complete certainty, which made significant amendments to the materials of L.A. Chistovich (1956), who noted only an increase in absolute thresholds during the initial action of side stimuli, and E.N. Sokolov (1958a), who found in his subjects only a decrease in thresholds under the influence of stimuli causing an indicative reaction.
L.B. Ermolaeva-Tomina studied both the influence of side light stimuli (flickering light) on auditory thresholds, and the influence of side sound stimuli (intermittent sound) on visual thresholds (for a detailed description of the technique, see the indicated works by L.B. Ermolaeva-Tomina). The approximate nature of the influence of these stimuli is proven, firstly, by the fact that these shifts are extinguished upon repeated presentations, secondly, by the fact that with further presentations these shifts acquire the opposite direction and are now stationary in nature, and thirdly, by the fact that that approximate shifts in thresholds also occur when a constantly acting side stimulus is turned off, as well as when the order of stimuli is changed.
It is important to note that the manifestation of the found patterns apparently does not depend on the analyzed analyzer: if the subject tends to lower the auditory threshold when exposed to pulsating light, then the influence of intermittent sound on the visual threshold will also mostly be expressed in him in a decrease in the measured threshold.
The main correlation obtained by L.B. Ermolaeva-Tomina in comparison with the properties of the nervous system, lies in the dependence of the direction of the approximate shift in sensitivity on the strength of the nervous system in relation to excitation. It was found that subjects with a strong nervous system react to the first and subsequent (before extinction) presentations of an additional stimulus, as a rule, by decreasing absolute sensitivity, while in “weak” subjects under the same conditions sensitivity in the vast majority of cases increases. Individual exceptions, inevitable when studying unselected groups, only confirm the general rule.
But the influence of the strength of the nervous system affects not only the direction of shifts in absolute sensitivity. Comparison of group averages leads to the conclusion that, in addition to the direction of shifts, the groups of “strong” and “weak” subjects also differ in the magnitude of these shifts: the average absolute value of changes in sensitivity in subjects with a weak nervous system is noticeably greater than in subjects with a strong nervous system. system.
Thus, in “strong” subjects the sensory orienting reaction proceeds like an external brake, while in “weak” individuals the orienting reaction leads to an improvement in the sensory function under study. These apparently paradoxical results require an explanation, which is provided by L.B. Ermolaeva-Tomina puts forward the following assumption: “With weak cortical cells... the indicative reaction obviously causes more generalized excitation, which manifests itself in an increase in the sensitivity of the analyzers. The decrease in sensitivity during the orienting reaction in subjects with strong cortical cells can probably be explained by the fact that their excitation is very quickly localized in the analyzer to which the extra-stimulus is directly addressed” (1959, p. 102). In principle, we can agree with this explanation if we add to it some missing links, relating mainly to the physiological mechanisms of these differences.
One can definitely think that these differences are associated with the difference in the absolute sensitivity of the strong and weak nervous systems. A weak nervous system, having a lower threshold of sensation, probably also has a lower threshold for excitation of the nonspecific activating system. It can be assumed that, due to this circumstance, a weak nervous system retains the tonic nature of generalized activation longer, provided by the mesencephalic part of the reticular system.
On the contrary, under the same conditions, a strong nervous system with its higher threshold, leading to a relative decrease in the physiological effect, perhaps already during the interval of action of the side stimulus (20 - 30 s) moves to a phasic form of activation, usually associated with the thalamic nonspecific system. And, as is known, a feature of thalamic activation is its localization in the structures of the irritated analyzer (S. Sharpless, N. Jasper, 1956; A.Yu. Gasteau et al., 1957; E.N. Sokolov, 1958a). One can imagine how L.B. suggests this. Ermolaev-Tomin that in the first moments of the action of a side stimulus on a strong nervous system, in it, as in a weak one, generalized activation also takes place, accompanied by an increase in sensitivity to the testing stimulus. Since, however, it is very short in nature, the experimenter simply does not have time to measure and register its peripheral effect. After a few seconds, when the activation reaction has already been transferred to the thalamic level and is localized within the narrower boundaries of cortical projections, in the area of the analyzer that receives the testing threshold stimulus, perhaps, due to the mechanisms of sequential induction, a drop in excitability and thereby a decrease in sensitivity to the testing stimulus is observed.
Of course, all these considerations are very hypothetical in nature and require further experimental and theoretical justification.
So, one of the parameters of sensory orienting reactions - their direction (and perhaps, if we keep in mind their magnitude - two) - reveals a fairly definite connection with such a property of the nervous system as its strength in relation to excitation. Unfortunately, we cannot say anything as definite about the role that other properties of the nervous system play in sensory orienting reactions, since the necessary comparisons have not been made in the laboratory, and, as far as we know, there are no literary data on this issue. In this regard, more material was obtained from the study of vascular reactions.
Vascular orientation reactions. Work on the study of vascular (vasomotor) orientation and conditioned reflex reactions was undertaken in the laboratory of psychophysiology of V.I. Rozhdestvenskaya (1963 b) specifically for the purpose of studying the capabilities of this technique in studying the properties of the human nervous system. The main problem that arises when working with the plethysmographic technique is the difficulty of establishing in many subjects the so-called zero plethysmographic curve, i.e., a smooth background devoid of spontaneous fluctuations. True, this seems to apply more to the more sensitive plethysmogram of the finger, rather than the hand (A.A. Rogov, 1963), but even in this latter case, pronounced spontaneous undulation can be observed, masking reactions to the stimuli used in the experiment.
It must be pointed out, however, that the very nature of the original, background curve, as shown by V.I. Rozhdestvenskaya and a number of other authors, can serve as an indicator of such quality as the balance of excitatory and inhibitory processes. The question arises: what kind of balance is this? Is this a balance in the Pavlovian sense of the term, i.e. the balance of nervous processes in some higher levels of the nervous system, or perhaps the undulation of the plethysmogram reflects only the imbalance of dynamic vasoconstrictor and vasodilator influences interacting in the subcortical vasomotor centers or even directly on the periphery?
Data from V.I. Rozhdestvenskaya testifies, rather, in favor of the first assumption. These data were obtained on 25 adult normal subjects when recording a digital plethysmogram. The experimental program included: 1) testing the effect of neutral sound (400 Hz tone) stimuli of different intensity, 2) testing the effect of “unconditional” cold stimulation (ice) and 3) developing conditioned vasoconstrictor vascular reactions by combining a sound stimulus, the indicative reaction to which was to at this point is extinguished, with a reinforcing cold agent.
Thus, the features of the background curve and the process of extinction of orientation could be compared with the properties of the dynamics of the excitatory process, determined using the vasomotor technique. In addition, the magnitude and latency of reactions to both types of stimuli applied were measured. So, with regard to orientation, two of its parameters were studied here: magnitude (average of the first 10 presentations of the sound) and rate of extinction.
The peculiarity of the work was that all four intensities of the sound stimulus used to extinguish the orientation (from near-threshold to very strong) were presented separately and in random order and, thus, it was possible to compare the progress of the extinction of the orienting reaction at different stimulus intensities. It turned out (see Table 2, borrowed from the work of V.I. Rozhdestvenskaya, 1963 b) that the volume of sound very significantly affects the speed of extinction of orientation: with a very loud stimulus, the extinction criterion (5 inhibitory reactions in 5 consecutive presentations of this stimulus) is not was achieved in 25 subjects, with loud – in 7 subjects, with medium and quiet – only in 1.
The clearest individual differences are observed at the average intensity of the stimulus, to which 5 subjects did not observe any reaction, and the maximum number of presentations before the response was extinguished was 20 (1 subject had more than 20). For this reason, and also because conditioned reactions were developed to a stimulus of precisely this intensity, to determine the connection between the rate of extinction of orientation and the speed of development of the conditioned reflex, we took individual indicators obtained at this average intensity.
table 2
The number of presentations of a sound stimulus of varying intensity until the indicative vascular reaction is extinguished (V.I. Rozhdestvenskaya, 1963b)
Following I.P. Pavlov, the orientation reflex is often called the “what is it?” reflex. This reflex is a complex reaction (at the levels of motor, vegetative and central nervous system activity) of the psyche to stimuli perceived as new and unknown.
Indeed, the significance of an unknown stimulus may potentially be high, so the body needs to “play it safe” and treat the unfamiliar stimulus with utmost attention.
According to the accepted model, the image (parameters) of a newly perceived stimulus is compared (at all levels of higher nervous activity) with the “trace” existing in the psyche. If there is a mismatch between the stimulus and the “trace”, an indicative reaction occurs.
On a polygram, such a reaction is manifested in changes in the dynamics of all main parameters: GSR, plethysmogram, respiration.
As the body “gets used” to the stimulus, the indicative reaction fades away. It is important that the novelty of a stimulus is “background-dependent”: a stimulus perceived as familiar under new conditions, against the background of a new situation, can again be characterized as new.
The indicative reaction (more precisely, its beginning - “setting”) is non-specific: different new stimuli cause the same changes in the body, which we can observe on the polygram. Then a differentiated analysis of the stimulus unfolds, associated with the specific activation of various parts of the central nervous system.
In cases where the stimulus with which the organism has become “acquainted” turns out to be significant and negatively valenced, the indicative reaction is replaced by a defensive reaction, formed on the basis of an unconditioned defensive reflex.
The unconditioned defensive reflex is also a multicomponent reaction, and its manifestations on the polygram are similar to those of the indicative reaction. However, defensive conditioned reactions are specific (due to the specificity of the stimuli that provoke them), so it can be assumed that we have the ability to distinguish between indicative and defensive reactions.
Let's return to consideration. Let us recall that we have not covered experiments aimed at clarifying qualitative differences in reactions to various stimuli.
In the first experiments, all stimuli are accompanied by indicative (nonspecific) reactions. After 10-20 presentations of the stimulus, the orienting reaction to it completely fades away. Now, if one of the stimuli (in the experiment of Luria and Vinogradova, the “violin” stimulus) is reinforced with an electric shock, the subject will develop a defensive (specific) reaction to it.
O.S. Vinogradova and E.N. Sokolov found that indicative and defensive reactions manifest themselves differently in the reactions of the vessels of the hand and head. If the vessels of the hand narrow in reactions of both types, then the vessels of the head narrow in a defensive reaction (to a painful stimulus) and expand in an indicative one.
This phenomenon allowed Luria and Vinogradova to see that the core of the significant semantic field “violin” caused precisely defensive reactions; stimuli entering the periphery of the field began to be accompanied by indicative reactions; neutral stimuli were not accompanied by reactions.
Continuation of the experiments led to the already described phenomenon: the significant field “narrowed,” peripheral stimuli became neutral, and the core components moved to the periphery of the field. The nature of reactions to stimuli changed accordingly.
Thus, observing a defensive type reaction, we can assume the high significance of the stimuli causing it. With an indicative reaction, the situation is more complicated: it can be caused by both the novelty of the stimulus and the novelty of the context (situation) in which the stimulus is presented, and, in addition, may indicate some average (intermediate between high and zero) significance of the stimulus.
Note that the drift of a stimulus from the field of personal meanings to the field of meanings of the subject’s consciousness means a decrease in the significance of this stimulus. At the same time, the acceleration of such movement is determined by the significance of the stimulus: the extinction of the reaction to a significant stimulus occurs more slowly. Consequently, by tracking the migration of a stimulus between the areas of consciousness of the person being tested by analyzing the corresponding changes in the intensity and nature of reactions (indicative or defensive), we have the opportunity to assess both the “relative” and “absolute” situational significance of the test stimuli. The changing nature of reactions to a given stimulus from presentation to presentation, associated with the concept of lability of the symptom complex, is apparently determined primarily by the aforementioned migration of stimuli along the axis of significance (proximity to the center of the field of personal meanings).
For a polygraph examiner, a more comfortable situation would probably be one in which the significance of the stimulus can be determined only by the intensity of the reaction (a quantitative indicator), and not by its quality. Returning to the factors of development of reactions of the indicative type (novelty of the stimulus, novelty of the context, average level of significance of the stimulus), we should point out ways to stop such reactions.
It is obvious that orienting reactions fade over time (with the number of presentations). This, by the way, is another argument in favor of the thesis about the need to study the subject’s reactions in dynamics, over several presentations of the same test. The first indicative reactions in response to stimuli develop in the person being tested already in the pre-test conversation. A thorough discussion of the topics of questions and their specific wording before testing is one of the main ways to minimize indicative reactions during polygram recording.
The ability to stop indicative reactions is also provided to us through control of the context in which the stimuli will be presented. The main techniques here are the use of general control questions (in our terminology, control relevant questions) and service tests built around such questions (TOKV). Control relevant questions (for example, “Do you intend to lie when answering the questions of this test?”), on the one hand, take on the first indicative reactions, and, on the other hand, place the subsequent stimuli in the desired context. In this case, among other things, there is an additional updating of the dynamic personal meanings of the person being tested, because the general control question refers the “truthful” person being tested to the control questions, and the “guilty” person to the relevant ones. This is ensured by the fact that by addressing even one of the stimuli of the semantic series (and not necessarily the central one), we thereby work with the entire series as a single whole.
Another way to minimize the manifestation of indicative reactions is to exclude from the test series stimuli that gravitate towards the peripheral area of the personally significant semantic field. These are stimuli that, on the one hand, are not directly related to the dominant of the significant field, but, on the other hand, are not considered as unconditionally insignificant. (An example of such stimuli would be questions whose meaning is not clearly established: “Did you have anything to do with the theft of money?” instead of “Did you do anything intentionally to make the money disappear?”).
The indicative reaction (OR) was first described by I.P. Pavlov as the motor reaction of an animal to a new, suddenly appearing stimulus. It included turning the head and eyes towards the stimulus and was necessarily accompanied by inhibition of the current conditioned reflex activity. Another feature of OR was the extinction of all its behavioral manifestations upon repetition of the stimulus. The extinct OR was easily restored at the slightest change in the situation (see Reader 6.2).
Physiological indicators of RR. The use of polygraphic registration showed that OR causes not only behavioral manifestations, but also a whole range of vegetative changes. These generalized changes are reflected in various components of the OR: motor (muscular), cardiac, respiratory, galvanic skin, vascular, pupillary, sensory and electroencephalographic (see topic 2). As a rule, when a new stimulus is presented, muscle tone increases, breathing and pulse rates change, the electrical activity of the skin increases, pupils dilate, and sensory thresholds decrease. In the electroencephalogram, at the beginning of the indicative reaction, generalized activation occurs, which manifests itself in the blockade (suppression) of the alpha rhythm and its replacement by high-frequency activity. At the same time, the possibility arises of unification and synchronous operation of nerve cells not according to the principle of their spatial proximity, but according to the functional principle. Thanks to all these changes, a special state of mobilization readiness of the body arises.
More often than others, in experiments aimed at studying OR, indicators of galvanic skin response (GSR) are used. It is particularly sensitive to the novelty of the stimulus and is modally nonspecific, i.e. does not depend on what particular stimulus causes the OR. In addition, GSR decays quickly, even if OR is caused by a painful stimulus. However, GSR is closely related to the emotional sphere, therefore the use of GSR in the study of OR requires a clear separation of the actual indicative and emotional components of the response to a new stimulus.
Neural model of the stimulus. The mechanism of occurrence and extinction of OR was interpreted in the concept of a neural stimulus model proposed by E.N. Sokolov. According to this concept, as a result of repetition of a stimulus, a “model” is formed in the nervous system, a certain trace configuration in which all parameters of the stimulus are recorded. An indicative reaction occurs in cases where a mismatch is detected between the current stimulus and the formed trace, i.e. "nervous model" If the current stimulus and the neural trace left by the previous stimulus are identical, then OR does not occur. If they do not coincide, then an indicative reaction arises and, to a certain extent, is stronger, the more different the previous and new stimuli are. Since the OR arises as a result of a mismatch of afferent stimulation with the “nervous model” of the expected stimulus, it is obvious that the OR will last as long as this difference exists.
In accordance with this concept, the OR should be recorded for any noticeable discrepancy between two sequentially presented stimuli. There are, however, numerous facts that indicate that OR does not always necessarily arise when the stimulus parameters change.
Significance of the stimulus. The orientation reflex is associated with the body’s adaptation to changing environmental conditions, therefore the “law of force” is valid for it. In other words, the more the stimulus changes (for example, its intensity or degree of novelty), the greater the response. However, no less, and often a greater reaction can be caused by insignificant changes in the situation if they are directly addressed to the basic needs of a person.
It seems that a more significant and, therefore, somewhat familiar stimulus should, other things being equal, cause a smaller RR than a completely new one. The facts, however, tell a different story. The significance of the stimulus is often decisive for the occurrence of OR. A highly significant stimulus can evoke a powerful orienting response with little physical intensity.
- According to some ideas, the factors that provoke OR can be ordered into 4 levels, or registers:
- stimulus register;
- novelty register;
- intensity register;
- significance register.
Almost all stimuli pass the first level of assessment; the second and third registers work in parallel. Having passed through any of these two registers, the stimulus enters the last one and its significance is assessed there. Only after this final act of evaluation does the entire complex of the orienting reaction develop.
Thus, OR does not arise in response to any new stimulus, but only in response to one that is previously assessed as biologically significant. Otherwise, we would experience OR every second, since new stimuli act on us constantly. When assessing the OR, therefore, it is necessary to take into account not the formal amount of information contained in the stimulus, but the amount of semantic, meaningful information.
Another important thing is that the perception of a significant stimulus is often accompanied by the formation of an adequate response. The presence of motor components indicates that the OR represents a unity of perceptive and executive mechanisms. Thus, OR, traditionally considered as a reaction to a new stimulus, represents a special case of orienting activity, which is understood as the organization of new types of activity, the formation of activity in changed environmental conditions (see Reader. 6.1).
ORIENTING RESPONSE (eng. orienting response) - a multicomponent reflex (involuntary) reaction of the human and animal body, caused by the novelty of the stimulus. Syn. orientation reflex, exploratory reflex, “What is it?” reflex, activation reaction, etc. In the complex of components of the O. r. include: 1) movements of the head, eyes and (in many mammals, also ears) in the direction of the source of irritation (motor component), 2) dilation of brain vessels with simultaneous narrowing of peripheral vessels, changes in breathing and electrical muscle tone (vegetative component), and also 3) an increase in the physiological activity of the cerebral cortex, manifested in the form of a decrease in the amplitude of the alpha rhythm, the so-called. depression of the electroencephalogram (neurophysiological component), 4) increase in absolute and/or differential sensory sensitivity, including an increase in the critical frequency of flicker fusion and spatial visual acuity (sensory component). (See Attention, Attention physiological mechanisms.)O. r. has a pronounced dynamics over time. Initially, when a new stimulus is presented, all components of the OR are manifested, forming the so-called. generalized O. r. At the same time, depression of the alpha rhythm is recorded in many areas of the cortex. After 15-20 presentations of the same stimulus, some of the components of the OR. fades away. Depression of the alpha rhythm is recorded only in the cortical projection of the corresponding analyzer. This phenomenon is called local OR. With further presentation of the intrusive stimulus, even local O. r. fades away; the irritant, having long ceased to be new to the body, continues to cause only the so-called. evoked potentials of the cerebral cortex: this suggests that nerve impulses caused by an external stimulus reach the cortex even after the complete extinction of the OR.
A distinctive feature of the extinction of O. r. - selectivity in relation to the stimulus. A change in the characteristics of the stimulus after extinction has been achieved leads to the appearance of O. r. as a response to novelty. By changing different stimulus parameters, it can be shown that the selectivity of extinction of O. r. manifests itself in the intensity, quality, duration of the stimulus and the intervals used. In each case, O. r. is the result of mismatch signals that arise when there is a mismatch between the stimulus and its neural model, which was formed during multiple repetitions of the stimulus used during extinction. After the presentation of a new stimulus, the OR is temporarily restored. to a habitual stimulus: disinhibition occurs. The similarity of the extinction of O. r. with the extinction of the conditioned reflex gave I.P. Pavlov reason to believe that both processes are associated with the development of internal inhibition. Considering the extinction of O. r. as the development of inhibitory conditioned reflex connections, we can conclude that it is negative learning.
Study of neural mechanisms of O. r. showed that it is associated with neurons located outside the main sensory pathways in the reticular formation and hippocampus. In contrast to specific afferent neurons, which are characterized by stable reactions even over many hours of stimulation, neurons associated with OR are unique detectors of novelty. These are multisensory neurons that respond only to new stimuli. The extinction of the reactions of novelty detectors repeats at the neural level the basic patterns of OR. and is characterized by a high degree of selectivity. See Information Needs.
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