Spheres of human mental activity. Human mental activity. definition

The first step in the study of human mental activity was made by the Russian physiologist I.P. Pavlov, discovering conditioned reflexes.

Mental activity is an ideal, subjectively realized, activity of the body, which is carried out with the help of neurophysiological processes.

Higher nervous activity (HNA) - a set of neurophysiological processes that provide consciousness, subconscious assimilation of incoming information and learning in the process of individual development of all types of activity, including the adaptive behavior of the body in the external environment. Consequently, mental activity is carried out on the basis of GNI. The difference between VND and mental activity lies primarily in the fact that mental activity occurs only during the period of wakefulness and is realized, while VIE proceeds both during sleep (as an unconscious processing of information) and during the wakefulness period (as conscious and subconscious processing).

Lower nervous activity is a set of neurophysiological processes that ensure the implementation of unconditioned reflexes and instincts.

Thus, the material basis of mental activity is physiological processes in interaction with traces of memory.

The prototype of human mental activity is the rational activity of animals - elements of mental activity. It is aimed at satisfying biological needs: the search for food, water, a sexual partner, a protective shelter, etc. The animal is able to find right exit from a new situation for him, using previous experience. For example, the fox foresaw the location of the object of hunting during rectilinear movement, even if the victim is not visible even at some time (it moves at this time behind an opaque partition).

There are several forms of mental activity. These include: sensation, perception, thinking, representation, attention, feelings (emotions) and will.

Sensation is a reflection in the mind of individual properties and qualities of objects and phenomena that directly affect the senses. With the help of sensations, the main external signs of objects and phenomena are reflected (color, shape, size, surface features of objects, sound, taste, etc.). Every sensation has quality, strength and duration. Depending on the quality of the stimulus, the following sensations are distinguished: visual, auditory, tactile, etc. The physiological basis of sensations is the activity of analyzers. The ability to have sensations is called sensitivity.

Perception (from lat. perception- perception) - the formation of images of objects or phenomena that act on the senses at the moment. This is a reproduction in the mind of a holistic image with all its properties and qualities. It consists in recognizing an object, phenomenon or in the formation of a new image that is encountered for the first time. The perceived images are fixed and stored in the brain.

Recognition is based on systems of temporary connections. Objects, phenomena affect the receptors of sensory systems, information from them neural pathways reaches the corresponding zones of the cortex. Further, in the associative zones of the cortex, the incoming information is compared with the images stored in the memory, and it is recognized. In a person, it can be reflected in speech, i.e. become aware, leading to the emergence of the concept.

Thus, perception develops at the final stage as a conscious process. If the sense organs are affected by previously unseen objects or phenomena, then a new image is formed. In this case, too, there is a comparison of the information received at the moment with traces of memory from other similar objects, phenomena. With repeated exposure, we recognize them.

Representations are formed on the basis of perception. Representation is the reproduction of traces of former perceptions. Representations arise as a result of processing and comprehension of past experience, therefore they are more generalized than perceptions. Representations form the main content of our knowledge and skills. Representation - the formation of an ideal image of an object or phenomenon that does not currently affect the senses. Information is retrieved from memory. Memory is the body's ability to perceive, store and reproduce information and skills in the mind. Representation without memory is impossible, as well as thinking.

Thinking is the highest form of cognitive activity aimed at establishing links between objects and phenomena and revealing their essence in the form of concepts, judgments and conclusions. A concept is a reflection in the human mind of the general and essential properties of an object or phenomenon. Judgment is the main form of thinking, in the process of which the connections between objects and phenomena of reality are affirmed or reflected. Inference is the selection of a new judgment from one or more judgments. Thinking is the operation of coded information, the process of acquiring new information, the implementation of other types of mental activity. Human mental activity is associated with language as a means of communication, accumulation of information, acquisition of skills and their transfer from person to person. The word is the main instrument of human thinking. Animal thinking is concrete, while human thinking is concrete and abstract.

There are several types of thinking: elementary (concrete), abstract and verbal-logical (discursive). Elementary (concrete) thinking is a form of reflection of reality, which is characteristic of man and animals. This is thinking in action, which manifests itself in expedient adequate behavior or in the assessment of an object or phenomenon. The physiological basis of elementary thinking is the first signal system.

Abstract thinking is one of the abstract conceptual forms of thinking based on the second signal system. Central to the process of abstract thinking is the use of a word or sign as a means for dismembering and highlighting features, abstracting them and a new synthesis; as a result, concepts are formed and, on the basis of the latter, generalizations. Abstract thinking is peculiar only to man, because it is carried out on the basis of abstract concepts that are not figuratively represented.

Verbal-logical thinking is mediated by the logic of reasoning, not perception. Verbal-logical (discursive) thinking is based on reasoning, consisting of a successive series of logical links, each of which depends on the previous one and determines the next one. It is also unique to humans.

Several approaches to the study of thinking are practiced: physiological, cybernetic and sociological. Physiologists study the neurophysiological mechanisms of mental acts. The individual characteristics of a person's mind are determined both by his genetic program and the experience of socialization. On the mental activity a person is influenced by his temperament, because the speed of response depends on temperament.

The main structures of consciousness and mental activity are the associative zones of the forebrain cortex with the nearest subcortical formations and the reticular formation of the trunk. The reticular formation provides the energy side of the activity of the cortex big brain, thereby exerting an activating effect on the cortex.

Consciousness requires an intermediate level of CNS activity, because it becomes impossible as strong decline the tone of the forebrain cortex, and with a noticeable increase in it (the latter happens, for example, in a state of rage). There is evidence that the leading value for the manifestation of higher mental functions have frontal lobes. With their defeat, in most cases, people experience disinhibition, irritability, mental instability, euphoria, complete or partial loss of the ability to predict, increased conflict, perseveration (perseverance in repeating the action).

Since the frontal lobes have two-way connections with the limbic system, which is involved in controlling emotions, they evaluate the information and choose the one that is most important at the moment. Also, the cortex of the frontal lobes interacts with the cortex of all other lobes of the cerebral hemispheres. The predictive activity of the frontal cortex is associated with the extraction of information from long-term memory, which is mainly provided by the activity of the temporal cortex. In the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere in a given person, there is a speech center. The dominant hemisphere ensures the unity of the thought processes taking place in both hemispheres. At the same time, the most successful mental activity of a person proceeds with the interaction of all parts of the cerebral cortex, a high emotional upsurge, active attention and, of course, in a state of consciousness.

Attention is a state of active wakefulness, when the body is ready for mental or physical activity. The appearance of attention indicates the beginning of the conscious adaptive activity of the organism, manifested in the selection necessary information. The physiological basis of attention is the orienting reflex. In this case, excitation is concentrated in certain parts of the cortex, while the rest of its parts are in a state of inhibition.

Distinguish between involuntary and voluntary (volitional) attention. Involuntary attention is an innate process carried out when a certain stimulus acts on the body without any effort on the part of the body. It arises by itself, under the influence of a strong, contrasting or new stimulus, or a stimulus that causes a noticeable emotional response. Voluntary attention is the conscious focus on certain information, requiring volitional efforts. The decisive role in human life and activity belongs precisely to voluntary attention. In the process of social activity, a person acquires the ability to control his attention. The leading role in this belongs to the frontal lobes. Intellectual attention is considered the highest form of voluntary attention. Thus, attention is a product of social development, expressed in the purposeful mobilization of a person's mental activity, and manifests itself in the local activation of a certain area of the cerebral cortex and the inhibition of other areas of the cortex.

An important characteristic of consciousness and activity is the will - the ability to consciously control one's behavior, to mobilize all forces to achieve the set goals. Will has developed as a quality of the psyche, consciously aimed at overcoming obstacles. Will manifests itself in actions (deeds) performed with a predetermined goal. The most important volitional qualities of a person are decisiveness, endurance, courage, purposefulness, discipline, perseverance, the ability for independent actions and deeds.

Emotion is also one of the forms of mental activity, since with the help of emotions, mental and somatic processes are regulated, and without emotions, GNI is impossible.

In addition to the forms considered, many scientists also distinguish how special forms mental activity: consciousness, memory, imagination, development conditioned reflexes on subthreshold stimuli, speech and sleep. Not all researchers agree with this point of view. For example, V.M. Smirnov and S.M. Budylina believe that sleep is not a mental activity, because during sleep consciousness is turned off. Sleep is a state of rest of the body, in which the consciousness and mechanisms for maintaining a natural posture are turned off, the sensitivity of sensory systems is reduced. Since the neurophysiological processes during sleep are not realized, sleep is not a form of mental activity. During sleep, higher and lower nervous activity proceeds. Higher nervous activity during sleep consists in the assimilation of information received during wakefulness, in the occurrence of dreams. Lower nervous activity is expressed in the regulation of vegetative functions, in maintaining a certain tone of the skeletal muscles, and in the regulation of body temperature. Higher nervous activity and, naturally, lower nervous activity take place in sleep at the subconscious level, because the organism is not aware of itself in the environment.

Dreams are also not a form of mental activity, but unreal images and phenomena that arise in a dream and are perceived as real reality, but they do not reflect it. It is known that the phenomena that a person sees in a dream do not exist at the moment. At the same time, the body does not evaluate reality, since consciousness is turned off during sleep and dreams.

Memory is a property of the brain to acquire, store and reproduce information and skills in the mind, while mental activity is a process.

Speech is also not a special form of mental activity, but without it it is impossible. Speech is a combination of thinking as one of the forms of mental activity and physical activity of the body - written and oral speech. Written and oral - external speech. There is also inner speech. Usually a person, before pronouncing or writing a word, says it in his mind. The internal expression of speech - thinking - is one of the forms of mental activity. Thinking is possible only at the level of consciousness. In the absence of consciousness, thinking is impossible.

Consciousness itself is also not a special form of mental activity, but its presence is the basis of all forms of mental activity. Consciousness - highest level ideal, subjective, adequate reflection by the brain of reality. If the organism is aware of itself and the surrounding reality, i.e. is conscious, then he can carry out all types of mental activity.

Unconscious activity of the brain also belongs to mental activity, when conditioned reflexes are developed to weak stimuli that are not subjectively perceived by the body. Many researchers attribute unconscious activity to GNI, since it is not realized, while mental activity is a conscious activity of the body, carried out with the help of GNI.

Imagination as a mental process of creating new images by a number of scientists also does not belong to special types of mental activity, because imagination is the result of thinking, i.e. main type of mental activity. Creating new images is impossible without thinking.

The physiological foundations of mental activity are represented by various structures of the brain. The most common methods for studying the brain are electroencephalography and the method of evoked potentials (EP). AT last years they are supplemented by computer processing of electroencephalogram (EEG) and EP elements.

The daily activities of the body require a different activity of the central nervous system. The EEG method, which makes it possible to study the total electrical activity, also helps to evaluate the mental activity of a person by changes in the EEG rhythms.

During intellectual activity, changes in certain EEG rhythms are observed. For example, when a person receives instructions about an upcoming activity, EEG changes are observed in many areas of the cerebral cortex, but mainly in the frontal region. When a person focuses on a specific task that he now has to solve, EEG changes are recorded in the right occipital and parietal regions, as well as in the left temporal region. In the process of intellectual activity, when, for example, a person solves a specific arithmetic problem. EEG changes are observed in the left parietal and left temporal areas of the cortex, as well as in the posterior parts of the right hemisphere.

In the scientific and educational literature, they usually describe distinctive features GNI of humans and animals. In our opinion, there are no such differences. GNI is a set of neurophysiological processes that provide consciousness, subconscious assimilation of incoming information and training in ontogeny for all types of activities, including adaptive behavior. The facts known so far show that neurophysiological processes in humans and animals (especially in higher ones) are the same. Moreover, the main patterns of GNI were obtained in experiments on animals. Mental activity is an ideal subjectively realized activity of the organism, carried out with the help of neurophysiological processes.

Thus, mental activity is carried out with the help of GNI. Human mental activity differs significantly from that of animals.

A person has the first and second signaling systems, animals have only the first. There are differences in the definition of the concepts of the first and second signal systems.

The first signal system is a set of sensory systems of the body that provide the formation of a direct (concrete-figurative) idea of the surrounding reality. Signals of the first signaling system are conditioned and unconditioned stimuli(objects, phenomena and their individual properties - smell, shape, etc.). For example, smell can signal the location of food, substances that are unpleasant and harmful to the body; red-hot iron is an unconditioned stimulus, but its color signals danger if there has been contact before, since a trace of this contact remains in the central nervous system in the form of memory engrams. Primary contact causes sensations, which leads to the formation of memory engrams, which subsequently signal the body about the properties of the stimulus.

The second signal system is a combination of human brain structures with visual and auditory systems that provide the formation of a generalized idea of the surrounding reality.. Its signals are the elements of human language. Human language is a means of communication between people with each other, the main form of which is oral and written speech, as well as formulas and symbols, drawings, gestures, facial expressions.

Speech is a means of communication between people using signals in the form of words. and providing abstract thinking.

However, the first human signaling system differs significantly from that of animals, since it bears the imprint of cultural and historical influences. For a person, every object, phenomenon has a conceptual definition, and it does not matter that it sounds differently in different languages. The second human signaling system allows the transfer of experience, the knowledge of ancestors to their descendants, which qualitatively distinguishes man from animals, allowing him to accumulate knowledge about the surrounding nature, and immensely increases the power of man over the world around him.

Human language was formed in anthropogenesis through communication primitive people with each other in the process of joint labor activity (hunting for wild animals, fishing, construction of dwellings). The entire cerebral cortex is related to both signaling systems, which closely interact with each other: the second signaling system in its activity depends on the functioning of the first signaling system.

Animal language, unlike human language, is just a set of conditional sound signals, facial expressions, gestures that report danger, an attack on animals of another species during food-procuring behavior, etc., reflects only current events. Thus, the main, but not the only difference between human language and animal language is speech.

There is a critical age for mastering speech. After 10 years, the ability to develop the neural networks necessary to build a speech center is lost. Speech does not have an innate character; the genetic prerequisites for mastering speech with the help of the corresponding center of the brain are inherited.

Anatomical and physiological foundations of speech. Speech perception carried out through sensory center of speech, located in the upper temporal region of the left hemisphere ( Wernicke center). The process of understanding speech is associated with the decoding of verbal information incoming in acoustic or optical forms, and is carried out by the temporal-parietal-occipital regions of the left hemisphere in right-handed people or by the right, left or both hemispheres in left-handed people. The cortical nucleus of the speech-motor analyzer is located in the region of the second and third frontal gyri- motor speech Broca's center(fields 44, 45 and 46, according to Brodman). The defeat of these centers leads to various violations speech.

Aphasia - speech disorder, which can take different forms depending on the location of the violations. In 1861, P. Broca described a patient who lost the ability to speak, but could write, read and understand what he was told. P. Broca believed that the cause of such a picture was the defeat of the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere. This area controls the muscles of the face, tongue, pharynx, lower jaw, i.e. is the motor center Broca's center). With aphasia discovered by K. Wernicke (1874), the upper-posterior section of the left temporal lobe was affected - Wernicke center. In this case, the patient pronounces sounds well, builds a phrase, but it contains a meaningless set of words, i.e. the patient did not realize the meaninglessness of his speech.

Sound information is perceived as primary auditory areas cortex, but in order for it to be comprehended (understood), the signals must enter Wernicke's area. When reading, the impulses reach the primary visual zones, and from there they pass into the angular gyrus, contacting the sound images of the corresponding words. Then the sound form of the word is processed into its meaning, as if it were perceived by ear. Many experts believe that not only the centers of Wernicke and Broca, but also the left hemisphere as a whole take part in the speech function. If a person knew two languages, then with aphasia the ability to speak in both languages drops out, which indicates the same organization of the brain mechanisms of languages.

Sign language is a type of human language(deaf and dumb) using visual-spatial skills. It is a formal language with a vocabulary of several thousand (up to 4 thousand) characters and a specific grammatical structure. Each sign stands for a word. In each sentence, the more specific and expressive element comes first, followed by signs that explain the situation (adjectives, adverbs, or verbs), and they are followed by the result, conclusion, or end result of the situation.

Damage to the speech area of the cortex in early periods life leads to the fact that the speech function is taken over by the right hemisphere, which indicates a greater plasticity of cortical cells, which decreases with age. If a the right hemisphere of adults is damaged, then speech disorders are not detected; if left hemisphere damaged, then arises heavy aphasia virtually no chance of recovery.

A person has figurative (concrete-objective) and abstract (verbal-logical) thinking, and in animals only figurative (concrete-subjective). Abstract human thinking is thinking with the help of concepts, symbols, formulas. It is formed through speech.

A person has a socially determined consciousness. On the basis of the second signal system, human consciousness arose. It, like speech, is formed only in human society.

Purposeful planned labor activity. Human labor is qualitatively different from the activities of animals that do not have a socially determined orientation. A person has planned labor, the creation of tools of production, the successive nature of labor, for example, work on a conveyor. The person is actively changing the world in accordance with the needs of society, a person cognizes himself, in the process of human labor he improvises. In animals, activity is programmed or is the result of imitation without understanding.

A person has three types of mental activity, in animals - only one.

They are based on the relationship between signal systems (I.P. Pavlov). The predominance of the first signal system over the second characterizes the artistic type, with the opposite ratio - the mental type, with their equality - the average type. artistic type(mainly writers, artists, musicians) is characterized by the perception of reality as a whole. For thinking type(mainly philosophers, mathematicians) is characterized by the perception of the surrounding reality through verbal signals, i.e. analytically (in detail). Medium type(intermediate) is characterized by certain properties of mental and artistic types. This division is to some extent connected with the different role of the right and left hemispheres in the processes of thinking.

Left hemisphere is the base for verbal-logical (abstract) thinking, it is mainly responsible for the semantic meanings of speech, the signals of the second signal system are better perceived, information is evaluated sequentially, analytically.

At right hemisphere figurative (concrete-objective) thinking prevails, the spatial features of objects are better perceived - at the same time, synthetically, the signals of the first signal system are better perceived, it is mainly responsible for the intonation of speech.

Table 14 shows the hemispheric differences in visual perception.

Table 14. Differences between the hemispheres in visual perception (Astapova, 2004)

Hemisphere	Better recognition of incentives	Better perceived tasks	Features of the processes of perception	Suggested morphophysiological differences
Left hemisphere	Verbal Easily distinguishable Acquaintances	Evaluation of temporal relations Setting similarity Setting the identity of stimuli by name Transition to verbal coding	Analytical perception Sequential perception Abstract, generalized, invariant recognition	Focused representation of elementary functions
Right hemisphere	Non-verbal Difficult to distinguish Unfamiliar	Evaluation of spatial relationships Establishing differences Establishing the physical identity of stimuli Visual-spatial analysis	Holistic perception (gestalt) Simultaneous perception Concrete perception	diffuse representation

We also note that the left hemisphere provides the formation of predominantly positive emotions, and the right - negative, it is more emotional. However, it should be noted once again that in the body both hemispheres work as a whole and have complementary relationships, i.e. they complement each other. The described differences in the contribution of the left and right hemispheres to the mental activity of a person relate to right-handers. For lefties, these ratios are mixed.

The above data were obtained in studies on a human with a split brain (section of the corpus callosum along medical indications). So, patients with a split brain were asked to put together a pattern from the presented cubes that would correspond to the shown picture (R. Sperry). Left hand, controlled by the right hemisphere, in this case was much "superior" to the right hand, controlled by the left hemisphere.

Questions for self-control

1. Define the concept - higher nervous activity (HNA).

2. What is called lower nervous activity?

3. Formulate the concept of “mental activity”. What is the relationship of this concept with the concept of GNI?

4. Formulate the concept of "consciousness".

5. List the forms of mental activity.

6. What is thinking?

7. Formulate the concept of "sensation", "perception", "representation".

8. List the main achievements of IP Pavlov in the study of GNI.

9. What is called a conditioned reflex?

10. List the basic rules for the development of conditioned reflexes.

11. Under what conditions does the developed conditioned reflex become strong? Why is the stimulus to which a conditioned reflex is developed initially called indifferent?

12. What reaction usually occurs at the beginning of the development of a conditioned reflex to a signal stimulus, and what physiological significance does it have?

13. Between what centers of the cerebral cortex does a temporary connection occur during the development of a conditioned reflex? What phenomenon underlies the mechanism of development of a conditioned reflex?

14. Classification of conditioned reflexes.

15. Name the three main subgroups and varieties of conditioned reflexes, classified according to unconditioned reflexes, on the basis of which they are developed.

16. Describe unconditioned reflexes.

17. Give a description of conditioned reflexes.

18. Give the definition of a functional system according to P. K. Anokhin.

19. Name the main components of the functional system according to P. K. Anokhin, which provides adaptive behavior.

20. What is called instinct?

21. What is learning and learning? What is the relationship between these concepts?

22. Give a classification of the main forms of learning.

23. What is the essence of operant learning? List two main types.

24. What is vicarious learning? Give an example.

25. What is the following reaction? Is it congenital or acquired? Give an appropriate explanation.

26. What is insight?

27. Define the concepts of "memory" and "engram".

28. Give the classification of memory according to the duration of information storage. Specify this time. Name a specific type of memory that is unique to humans.

29. What is instantaneous (sensory) and short-term memory, what is their neuronal mechanism?

30. Name the main changes in neurons during the transition short term memory long-term (memory consolidation).

31. Provide evidence of the important role of RNA in the process of remembering information.

32. What effects do serotonin and adrenaline have on the learning process, in what state of the body does this manifest itself brighter?

33. What brain structures play a particularly important role in the processes of memory consolidation? Bring evidence.

34. What is the capacity of instantaneous, short-term and long-term memory?

35. What is meant by corticolization of functions? How will the behavior of a frog and a pigeon change after the complete removal of their cerebral hemispheres?

36. What is meant by the localization of functions in the cerebral cortex? What functional areas are distinguished in the cerebral cortex? Which of them play a particularly important role in the analysis and synthesis of information entering the cortex?

37. What is the physiological significance of the phenomena of analysis and synthesis of information entering the cerebral cortex?

38. List the main methods by which you can explore the localization of functions in the cerebral cortex.

39. In which cerebral hemisphere and in what area of the cortex are the sensory center of speech (Wernicke's center) and the motor center of speech (Broca's center) located in right-handed people?

40. List the main methods for studying GNI.

41. What is electroencephalography and electroencephalogram (EEG)? List the waves (rhythms) of the EEG.

42. What EEG waves are most typical for an active waking state? Where do they mostly register? What is their frequency and amplitude?

43. What EEG waves are most typical for the body in a state of physical and emotional rest, with eyes closed in the absence of external stimuli? Where do they mostly register? What is their frequency and amplitude?

44. Name the main types of EEG changes during external influences. Are they local or generalized?

45. What forms of body responses provide adaptive behavior of a person in the environment?

46. What is meant by unconditioned inhibition of conditioned reflexes? What forms of unconditional inhibition do you know?

47. What is the physiological significance of external inhibition of conditioned reflexes? Explain the mechanism.

48. Under what conditions does transcendental inhibition of conditioned reflexes occur? What is its mechanism and physiological significance?

49. What is meant by conditioned inhibition of conditioned reflexes? What forms of conditional inhibition do you know?

50. How is the extinction inhibition of conditioned reflexes developed? How does the conditioned reflex change in this case?

51. How is differential inhibition of conditioned reflexes developed? How does the conditioned reflex change in this case?

52. How is a conditional brake developed? How does the conditioned reflex change in this case?

53. How is retarded conditional inhibition developed? What is the essence of the manifestation of this type of inhibition?

54. What is the biological significance various kinds conditioned inhibition of conditioned reflexes?

55. Give the definition of "type of GNI". What underlies the classification of types of GNI?

56. How is the strength of the excitation process in a person determined by working capacity?

57. How can the strength of the arousal process be determined using pharmacological testing?

58. What are the main methods of studying the strength of the braking process.

59. Describe the main methods by which you can determine the mobility of nervous processes in the study of types of GNA.

60. What types of GNI are distinguished according to I.P. Pavlov? Compare them with the corresponding types of temperament according to Hippocrates.

61. List the main features of human GNI.

62. What is sleep?

63. Name the main phases of sleep according to the nature of the EEG, indicate their duration.

64. What EEG waves are most typical for the stages of "slow" sleep? Give them a description.

65. What EEG waves are most typical for REM sleep? Give them a description.

66. What is called the sleep cycle? What is its average duration? How many sleep cycles are typically recorded during a normal night's sleep?

67. What physiological changes (except EEG changes) are typical for the phase of "slow" sleep?

69. What physiological changes (except EEG changes) are typical for REM sleep?

70. What are dreams and for what phase of sleep are they most characteristic?

71. What is the physiological significance of sleep?

72. What is called functional interhemispheric asymmetry? What is it expressed in?

73. What methods can be used to study interhemispheric asymmetry?

74. Who formulated the idea of the body's signaling systems? What is meant by the first and second signaling systems? What are the signals for each?

75. Define the concept of "emotion".

76. What structural organization in the CNS is the morphological substrate for emotional reactions? List its main components.

77. What is the biological significance of the needs of the organism?

78. Define the concept of "motivation", name the causes of motivation. What is their meaning?

79. What is the significance of positive and negative emotions for a person?

80. How does the language of man differ from the language of animals?

1. Physiology of excitable tissues……………………………………………6

1.1.1. Discovery of electrical phenomena in animal tissues. concept

process of excitation……………………………………………………………….6

1.1.2. Resting potential………………………………………………………………7

1.1.3. Action potential…………………………………………………………13

1.1.4. Local potentials…………………………………………………...19

1.1.5. Changes in cell excitability during its excitation. Lability……………………………………………………………………...22

1.1. 6. Criteria for assessing excitability. Accommodation. Usage electric current in medicine………………………………………………..24

1.2. Sensory receptors. Nerve fibers, neuromuscular synapse….29

1.2.1. Structural and functional characteristics of sensory receptors

1.2.2. Physiology of nerve fibers………………………………………………33

1.2.3. Physiology of the neuromuscular synapse………………………………..42

1.3. Muscle physiology…………………………………………………………..47

1.3.1. Structural and functional characteristics of skeletal muscle……..47

1.3.2. The mechanism of skeletal muscle contraction………………………………51

1.3.3. Types of muscle contractions……………………………………………54

1.3.4. Indicators of physical activity of muscles…………………………...57

1.3.5. Structural and functional features of smooth muscles…………….59

2. Physiology of the central nervous system……………………………..64

2.1.1. Structural and functional characteristics of the central nervous system…………………………………………………………………………...64

2.1.2. Mediators and receptors of the central nervous system………………73

2.1.3. The mechanism of excitation of neurons……………………………………….79

2.1.4. Characterization of the spread of excitation in the central nervous system…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2.1.5. Properties nerve centers……………………………………………….85

2.2. Inhibition in the central nervous system…………………………….92

2.2.1. Postsynaptic inhibition…………………………………………92

2.2.2. Presynaptic inhibition……………………………………….....96

2.2.3. General characteristics of inhibition in the central nervous system

2.2.4. Coordination activity and integrative role of the central nervous system………………………………………………………………….100

2.3. Physiology of the spinal cord………………………………………………107

2.3.1. Structural and functional characteristics of the spinal cord……….107

2.3.2. The conduction function of the spinal cord……………………………...110

2.3.3. Somatic reflexes of the spinal cord……………………………..112

2.3.4. Muscle tone in the spinal organism………………………………...120

2.3.5. Brain stem……………………………………………………………....122

2.3.6. The conductive function of the brain stem……………………………………………………………………………………………129

2.3.7. Integrative systems of the brainstem……………………………………………………130

2.3.8. Functions of the cerebellum…………………………………………………………136

2.3.9. Physiology of the diencephalon…………………………………… 140

2.3.10. Functions of the basal ganglia……………………………………………………………………144

2.3.11. Functions of the limbic system………………………………………….146

2.3.12. Cortex. Neuronal organization of the neocortex. Corticalization of functions……………………………………………………...148

2.3.13. The main functional zones of the new cortex……………………….151

2.3.14. Methods for studying the central nervous system……………....160

2.3.15. General characteristics of the autonomic nervous system……………..165

2.3.16. Sympathetic nervous system……………………………………...170

2.3.17. Parasympathetic nervous system………………………………....175

2.3.18. Intraorganic nervous system..………………………………..178

2.3.19. Regulation of synapse functions………………………………………….....181

2.3.20. Interaction between divisions of the autonomic nervous system…183

2.3.21. Centers of the autonomic nervous system……………………………..185

2.3.22. Afferent pathways of the autonomic nervous system………………...188

2.3.23. The tone of the vegetative centers……………………………………….....191

2.3.24. Trophic action of the nervous system…………………………….193

3. Physiology higher nervous activity …………………………...197

3.1.1. The concept of higher nervous activity……………………………..197

3.1.2. Physiological basis of behavior……………………………………...197

3.1.3. Innate activity of the organism and imprinting…………………198

3.1.4. The structure of a holistic behavioral act………………………......200

3.1.5. Memory…………………………………………………………………....203

3.1.6. Short-term (electrophysiological) memory…………………204

3.1.7. Intermediate (neurochemical) memory…………………………...206

3.1.8. Long-term (neurostructural) memory………………………….208

3.1.9. Remembering and forgetting…………………………………………….212

3.1.10. The role of individual brain structures in the formation of memory

3.1.11. Learning………………………………………………………………..217

3.1.12. The conditioned reflex is one of the forms of learning. Methods for studying higher nervous activity………………………………………………..217

3.1.13. Research methods of GNI…………………………………………...220

3.1.14. Classification of conditioned reflexes…………………………………224

3.1.15. Inhibition of conditioned reflexes as one of the forms of learning…….226

3.1.16. Other forms of learning……………………………………………....229

3.1.17. Types of higher nervous activity and personality temperament…….234

3.1.18. Wakefulness and sleep. Dreams……………………………….......236

3.1.19. Forms of mental activity and consciousness………………………240

3.1.20. Characteristics of individual forms of mental activity……...241

3.1.21. Physiology of motivations and needs……………………………….243

3.1.22. Emotions…………………………………………………………………244

3.1.23. Thinking is the main form of mental activity…………243

3.1.24. Conscious and unconscious activity of the organism…………..250

3.1.25. Features of human mental activity…………………..252

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The discovery and study of conditioned reflexes was the first step towards the study of the physiological mechanisms underlying mental activity. I.P. Pavlov noted that physiology and psychology study a common object - the higher functions of the brain, however, each of these sciences approaches the study of these functions with its own methods and concepts, therefore there cannot be a complete reduction of the mental to the physiological.

Human mental activity is any conscious activity of the brain. It may or may not be accompanied by physical work. Mental activity is a function of the whole organism. During mental activity, there is a transition from the external, real world to the internal, ideal, which is reflected in concept of internalization. Needs and the motives they evoke act as the goals of activity, the content and forms of which are determined by socio-historical factors, social relations and human experience. The purpose of activity acts as a conceptual model of the desired, arising in the mind of a person, where personal necessity is regulated by social necessity. The material basis of human mental activity is physiological processes in the form of patterns (drawings, patterns) of impulse activity of neurons in interaction with traces of memory. In particular, the pattern of nerve impulses reflects the semantic content of sound signals. The main significance of mental processes is the adaptation of man and animals to the environment. The prototype of human mental activity is mental activity of animals(elements of mental activity), aimed at satisfying biological needs: search for food, water, individuals of the opposite sex, shelter from bad weather, hunting of predatory animals. At the same time, there is extrapolation (reasonable) activity: for example, foreseeing the location of the object of hunting in a rectilinear movement, even if

for a period of time the victim is not visible. This was also demonstrated in the experiments of L.V. Krushinsky. The animal observed the rectilinear movement of the object, which moved behind the partition for a certain time. The animal determined the place where the object should appear, without prior training, based on the picture that had developed in its brain about the movement of the object. Mental activity - component VIEW, since VIEW can proceed consciously and subconsciously, and mental activity is conscious.

The following forms of mental activity are distinguished: sensation, perception, representation, thinking, attention, feelings (emotions) and will.

A. Sensation - a form of direct reflection in the mind of a person of individual properties of objects and phenomena of reality that currently affect the human senses. Sensations are the basic element of other forms of mental activity. Every sensation has a quality (modality), strength and duration. Depending on the type (nature) of the stimulus, visual, auditory, tactile sensations, etc., are distinguished. With the help of sensation, it is possible to determine the localization of acting stimuli - on the surface of the body and in the environment.

B. Perception(from Latin regser (u - perception) - also one of the forms of mental activity, which consists in recognizing an object or phenomenon or in forming a subjective image of objects and phenomena encountered for the first time.

An important link in perception is the identification of an object, a phenomenon. At the heart of this process are systems of temporary connections. Objects, phenomena act on receptors, information from which reaches the corresponding zones of the cortex, then in the associative zones of the cortex, the incoming information is compared (compared) with the images stored in memory, and it is recognized. In a person, it can be reflected in speech, i.e. become aware, leading to the emergence of the concept. Thus, perception develops at the final stage as a conscious process. If previously unseen objects or phenomena act on the sense organs, then their image is formed. With repeated exposure, we recognize them.

B. Submission- an ideal image of an object, a phenomenon that does not currently affect the senses. We extract the image of an object, a phenomenon from memory - a remarkable property of highly organized matter - the brain (to perceive, store and reproduce information and experience in consciousness). Representation without memory is impossible, as well as thinking. D. Thinking- this is the process of cognition and accumulation of information and experience and the operation of knowledge, i.e. information encoded using memory mechanisms. Thinking is one of the types of mental activity.

1. Types of thinking.

Elementary (concrete) thinking - a form of reflection of reality, manifested in appropriate adequate behavior aimed at satisfying biological needs. It is characteristic of man and animals. The physiological basis of elementary thinking is the first signal system.

Abstract thinking - abstract-conceptual form of thinking that develops with the formation of the second signal system (see section 6.11.1). It is unique to humans. The second signal system provides thinking with the help of various concepts, categories, formulas.

Verbal-logical thinking (discursive) - a form of thinking based on reasoning, consisting of a successive series of logical links, each of which depends on the previous one and determines the next one.

Higher than other animals human ability to thinking and learning not connected with the emergence of some special nerve cells such as "speech neurons", "memory neurons", etc. In all likelihood, the development of these features is due purely quantitative changes. namely - an increase in the number of neural networks involved in information processing. It is most pronounced in the neocortex, which, therefore, seems to provide a high speed of such processing, in particular in learning, retrieval of data from memory, pronunciation and understanding of words.

2. Highest value for thinking have associative areas of the cerebral cortex. For example, the associative fields of the parietal region combine information coming from the somatosensory cortex regarding the position of the body in space, from the visual (occipital) and auditory (temporal) cortex. The information retrieved from the memory merges with the sensory and allows us to interpret specific information from the senses. The most complex part of integrative activity falls on the frontal lobes, which have extensive two-way connections with the limbic system, which gives the emotional nature of the processed information. Receiving a variety of information about the state of the body and the environment, we use the frontal cortex to evaluate its significance in this moment and choose the information that is of paramount

meaning. frontal cortex responsible for choosing the goals that we set for ourselves for the future. People with damaged frontal lobes become irresponsible and unable to perform a series of consistent actions in achieving the goal when life situations change. The frontal cortex interacts with all parts of the cerebral cortex, especially with the CNS structures that determine language functions. The temporal cortex is involved in memory processes. Pathology of the temporal cortex leads to the loss of long-term memory. The activity of the frontal cortex in making plans for the future is associated with the retrieval of information from long-term memory, which is mainly provided by the activity of the temporal cortex.

D. Attention- a state of active wakefulness, characterized by readiness to respond to a stimulus and expressed in the direction of mental activity to a specific object. The appearance of attention is due to the activation of nervous processes that contribute to the transition from one level of wakefulness to another, higher one; a very strong degree of activation disrupts the process of attention. The appearance of attention is the beginning of exploratory behavior, adaptive conscious activity of the body, selection of the necessary information. In physiological terms, attention is based on the orienting reflex. This reflex with the repetition of the action of the stimulus weakens, disappears, which indicates the role of the cerebral cortex and that the orienting reflex has some features of learning (extinction) characteristic of conditioned reflexes. To understand the mechanism of attention, the concept of the dominant is used (A.A. Ukhtomsky).

There are two types of attention - involuntary and voluntary (volitional). involuntary Attention is an innate process carried out by the action of a certain stimulus on the body without any efforts of the body. In the process of social activity, a person acquires the ability to control his attention; attention that obeys the will of a person is called volitional (arbitrary). The leading role in voluntary attention belongs to the frontal lobes. Intellectual attention is considered to be the highest form of volitional attention. Thus, attention is a product of social development, expressed in the purposeful mobilization of a person's mental activity.

E. Will- the degree of manifestation of the desire to achieve the goal. The most important volitional qualities of a person are determination, endurance, perseverance, the ability for independent actions and deeds. G. The influence of sensory influx on mental activity,

In children and adolescents, a long-term (6 months, 1 hour per day) increase in sensory input (contrasting fragments of classical music, coordinated finger movements, pleasant smells) enhances attention, significantly improves color perception and hearing, increases the volume of auditory and speech visual memory, verbal and non-verbal intelligence, improves mental performance, spatial and dynamic praxis. Thus, the beginning of the active development of speech is accelerated among the pupils of the Orphanage even against the background of her total absence at the beginning of the study; improves blood supply to the brain. There is an increase in purposeful motor activity, sociability, improvement of psycho-emotional status. There is an increase in the energy of the 1-rhythm and an increase in intra- and interhemispheric coherence for 6- and a-rhythms.

for a period of time the victim is not visible. This was also demonstrated in the experiments of L.V. Krushinsky. The animal observed the rectilinear movement of the object, which moved behind the partition for a certain time. The animal determined the place where the object should appear, without prior training, based on the picture that had developed in its brain about the movement of the object. Mental activity is an integral part of the SIE, since the SIE can proceed consciously and subconsciously, and mental activity is conscious.

The following forms of mental activity are distinguished: sensation, perception, representation, thinking, attention, feelings (emotions) and will.

1. Types of thinking.

2. Greatest value for thinking have associative areas of the cerebral cortex. For example, the associative fields of the parietal region combine information coming from the somatosensory cortex regarding the position of the body in space, from the visual (occipital) and auditory (temporal) cortex. The information retrieved from the memory merges with the sensory and allows us to interpret specific information from the senses. The most complex part of integrative activity falls on the frontal lobes, which have extensive two-way connections with the limbic system, which gives the emotional nature of the processed information. Receiving a variety of information about the state of the body and the environment, we use the frontal cortex to evaluate its significance at the moment and choose information that is of paramount importance.

meaning. The frontal cortex is responsible for choosing the goals we set for ourselves for the future. People with damaged frontal lobes become irresponsible and unable to perform a series of consistent actions in achieving the goal when life situations change. The frontal cortex interacts with all parts of the cerebral cortex, especially with the CNS structures that determine language functions. The temporal cortex is involved in memory processes. Pathology of the temporal cortex leads to the loss of long-term memory. The activity of the frontal cortex in making plans for the future is associated with the retrieval of information from long-term memory, which is mainly provided by the activity of the temporal cortex.

In children and adolescents, a long-term (6 months, 1 hour per day) increase in sensory input (contrasting fragments of classical music, coordinated finger movements, pleasant smells) enhances attention, significantly improves color perception and hearing, increases auditory-speech and visual memory, verbal and non-verbal intelligence, improves mental performance, spatial and dynamic praxis. Thus, in the children's home, the onset of active speech development accelerates even against the background of its complete absence at the beginning of the study; improves blood supply to the brain. There is an increase in purposeful motor activity, sociability, improvement of psycho-emotional status. There is an increase in the energy of the 1-rhythm and an increase in intra- and interhemispheric coherence for 6- and a-rhythms.

T2. EMOTIONS (FEELINGS) AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT IN ONTOGENESIS

Emotions- reactions of the body to the action of external or internal stimuli, accompanied by pronounced experiences (from Latin etoueo, etouege - to shake, excite). This is one of the forms of mental activity. I act as internal stimuli! pathological processes (diseases of internal organs). External stimuli- these are unpleasant or, on the contrary, pleasant situations, painful effects, etc.

Emotions of a newborn negative in nature, monotonous (shout) and always rational, therefore they serve as a reliable signal of any trouble (wet diapers, hunger, pain) and stop with the elimination of the cause that caused them. However, already in the first days of life, when an adult approaches, the child's motor activity increases and sucking movements intensify - a reaction of general revival that anticipates feeding. On the 2-3rd week of life, in the process of feeding, the child carefully examines the mother's face, breasts, her hands.

If in a newborn child emotional reactions, as already noted, are negative and always rational, then in infant both negative and positive emotions arise. In particular, at the 2nd month of life, the child develops a smile, primarily as a reaction to the mother’s face; at the 3rd month, laughter and general motor animation with uplifting of arms, fingering legs, joyful exclamations join the smile. The child reacts with a revitalization complex

only on the face of a person, but also in the form of a bath of water, preparation for feeding.

A. Classification of emotions. There are several criteria underlying the classification of emotions. First, allocate stage and asthenic emotions. Sthenic emotions are expressed in an increase in vital activity - physical, spiritual uplift; asthenic emotions are manifested in the oppression of vital activity, a decrease in spiritual and physical strength. Secondly, emotions can be positive and negative. Positive emotions are usually accompanied by the activation of human activity and aimed at maintaining and strengthening this state. Negative sthenic emotions aimed at eliminating adverse effects on the body. Negative asthenic emotions (horror, melancholy) arise with a significant lack of resources to solve the problem, even in the case of maximum mobilization of the body's forces. Basic emotions- this is joy, interest, surprise, grief, disgust, anger, contempt, fear, guilt, shame.

B. The state of the body during emotions accompanied by significant changes in the functions of internal organs and body systems, motor reactions are possible. Emotions involve in increased activity only those systems of the body that provide better interaction with the environment. The nature of external (behavioral) reactions or changes in the intensity of the activity of internal organs depend on the situation that caused the emotion. For example, sthenic negative emotion is usually accompanied by excitation of the central nervous system, the release of catecholamines into the blood, leading to the activation (mobilization) of a number of body systems - increased activity of the cardiovascular system, respiration, increased muscle tone, motor activity. The activity of the gastrointestinal tract in this case, as a rule, is inhibited. External manifestations emotions can be suppressed by an effort of will, internal ones are usually not controlled.

C. The main structures responsible for the manifestation of emotional reactions are the elements of the limbic system, the frontal and temporal lobes. The cortical regions of the limbic system are hippocampus(Ammon's horn, dentate gyrus, subiculum), parahippocogpal gyrus, cingulate gyrus and phylogenetically old structure olfactory brain(olfactory bulbs, olfactory tubercles and areas of the cortex located above the amygdala). Many authors also refer to the limbic system the orbitofrontal, insular, and partially temporal lobes of the cortex. Subcortical structures in the limbic system include amygdala, septal nuclei and anterior thalamic nucleus. Many researchers classify the preoptic region, the hypothalamus, and the mamillary bodies as part of the limbic system (Fig. 6.12; see Fig. 5.10).

The afferent and efferent connections of the structures of the limbic system, both among themselves and with other parts of the brain, are extremely diverse. The most pronounced are the strongest connections between the limbic system and the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus and mamillary bodies are connected to the hippocampus and septal region through the fornix. Through the hypothalamus and mamillary bodies, the limbic system is connected to the midbrain (limbic region of the midbrain).

Numerous circuits of excitation are very characteristic of the limbic system. The frontal cortex reacts to the activity of the limbic mechanisms and modifies it. The defeat of the frontal lobes is accompanied by emotional dullness and disinhibition of biological reactions.

Rice. 6.12. Scheme (simplified) of afferent and efferent connections of the hypothalamus. CSF - cerebrospinal fluid The limbic system communicates with the neocortex in the frontal and temporal lobes. The temporal regions are primarily responsible for the transmission of information from the visual, auditory, and somatosensory cortex to the amygdala and hippocampus. After bilateral sciatica monkeys lose the ability to social intra-group behavior. Such animals cannot give a social assessment of exteroceptive information (especially visual, auditory and olfactory) necessary for group behavior, as well as associate this information with their own emotional state (mood), which determines their intragroup likes or dislikes (i.e., elementary units intragroup relationships).

Amygdalectomy monkeys avoid the rest of the group and give the impression of anxious and insecure animals. Through the amygdala, those emotional behavioral responses that have been useful in similar conditions in the past are triggered. In this case, the amygdala has an activating and / or inhibitory effect on the corresponding hypothalamic mechanisms.

It is possible that all the structures of the limbic system, the hypothalamus, the limbic region of the midbrain, and the frontal regions of the cortex are involved in the development and differentiation of emotions. This is supported, for example, by the fact that in organic diseases of the brain (tumors, inflammatory and systemic diseases) that affect the structures described above, as well as with external damage to these structures, the emotional behavior of the patient often changes.

Monoaminergic systems and intracerebral self-irritation. If a rat is implanted with an irritating electrode in the medial forebrain bundle in the region of the lateral parts of the hypothalamus, placed in the Skinner chamber and given the opportunity to perform self-irritation by pressing the lever (Fig. 6.13), then this self-irritation can be used as one of the options for operant learning. At the same time, intracerebral stimulation enhances behavioral responses. This irritation has such a pronounced reinforcing effect that the animal usually prefers it to all other types of reward, including food. Rats and monkeys with electrodes in the region of the median bundle of the forebrain carry out constant self-irritation so intensely that there is a danger of the death of the animal from exhaustion. The frequency of pressing the lever reaches 7000 per hour!

the use of which leads not to a reinforcing effect, but to an avoidance reaction. There are much fewer such areas; they are located in periventricular sections of the intermediate and midbrain(Fig. 6.14. a). Areas of positive and negative reinforcement partially overlap. Areas whose irritation leads to reinforcement or avoidance are called "centres" pleasure and displeasure, approach and avoidance or rewards and punishments. The existence of such centers testifies in favor of the hypothesis that positive and negative emotions arise when certain brain structures are excited.

The results obtained in the experiments With self-irritation on animals are also applicable to humans. When a patient during a neurosurgical operation is given the opportunity to stimulate his own brain, this irritation may cause pleasant or unpleasant sensations. Patients describe these sensations as satisfaction, joy, peace and comfort, or, on the contrary, as despondency, anxiety, anxiety or fear.

In the very first experiments carried out with the aim of searching for nerve formations responsible for positive reinforcement, it was

it was found that the areas of the brain from which self-stimulation can be obtained almost completely coincide with the zones of innervation by catecholaminergic neurons (see Fig. 6.14). The severity of the reinforcing effect approximately corresponds to the density of this innervation. The coincidence of reward areas and the location of monoaminergic neurons indicates that the catecholaminergic systems are either themselves zones responsible for positive reinforcement or are synaptically connected to these zones.

People often have various mental disorders. Approximately 1% of the world's population suffers from schizophrenia, and 15-30% experience various forms of depression at one time or another in their lives. Perhaps all these pathological conditions are associated with disturbances in the activity of higher nerve centers and mainly limbic system.

The frontal cortex responds to the activity of the limbic mechanisms and modifies it. The defeat of the frontal lobes is accompanied by emotional dullness and disinhibition of biological reactions.

Removal temporal lobes causes the elimination of fear and aggression. It is believed that the cingulate gyrus is the main coordinator of the various brain systems involved in the formation of emotions. "Right hemisphere" people have a shift in the emotional sphere in the negative direction, and "left hemisphere" - in a positive one. People with a lesion of the right hemisphere are emotionally complacent, and those with a lesion of the left hemisphere are anxious and preoccupied.

D. Causes of emotions. one. biological need(P.K.Anokhin). This theory of emotions is based on the concept of a functional system: an emotion is associated with the appearance of a need, which can be accompanied by a negative emotion and its elimination, as a result of which a positive emotion arises, that is, it is part of the afferent synthesis, and also takes place in the structure of the result acceptor actions (see section 6.13).

2. P.V. Simonov put forward needs information theory according to which the emergence of emotion is based on the need and the information necessary to achieve it. To understand their relationship, he proposed the formula:

E \u003d - P (I n - I s)

where E - emotion, its degree, quality and sign; P - the strength and quality of the need; And n - information about the means necessary to meet the need; And c - information about the existing means that the subject actually has. If the amount of information is insufficient to satisfy the need, a negative emotion arises; if it is sufficient, a positive emotion arises as a result of satisfying the need.

3. Submission put forward(G. I. Kositsky) about that. that in order to achieve the goal (satisfy the need), certain information (I n), energy (E p) and time (Vn) are necessary: if the information existing in the body (I s), energy (E s) and time (V s) are less , a stress state (SN) occurs, which can be expressed by the empirical formula:

CH \u003d fTs (I n E n V n - I s E s V e),

where C is the goal (task, need).

However, in reality, no single formula can include all possible reasons occurrence of negative or positive emotions. So, any pleasant or unpleasant message causes a positive or negative emotion, respectively; pain, cold, hunger, illness also cause negative emotions, etc.

D. The meaning of emotions. one. Mobilization of physical and intellectual resources. Emotion promotes concentration of attention, sharpens mental activity and sensitivity of analyzers, facilitates the memorization of more information and increases sports achievements for a longer period, etc.

2. The communicative role of emotion It is realized with the help of mimic and pantomimic movements, which allow a person to convey his experiences to other people, to inform them about his attitude to objects, phenomena.

3. Positive emotions render beneficial effect on the state of human health. N.I. Pirogov noticed that the soldiers of the victorious army were recovering faster. I.P. Pavlov noted that a positive emotion makes a person healthy, a negative one destroys the body. “The arrival of a clown in the city is more important for the health of the inhabitants than 10 mules loaded with medicines” (T. Sydenheim, English, doctor, 17th century). However, the doctor must remember that strong negative emotions (anguish, fear, anger, etc.) are dangerous for human health, especially if they are repeated often or if they last long enough.

To prevent the negative effects of emotional stress importance have physical exercises, especially intense ones (cycling, rowing, running, etc.). The same anti-stress value has any activity that causes the emergence of positive emotions (favorite work, hobby), which destroy negative emotional excitations and prevent their summation. Great importance is attached not to the suppression of negative emotions, but to the ability not to allow them to arise in a certain situation.

Emotions are usually accompanied by changes in the electrophysiological activity of the brain.

Figure 6 14 Comparison of brain regions, self-stimulation of which is accompanied by positive reinforcement, with the location of the central catecholaminer systems (according to J. Olda, with changes). a- areas of self-irritation; b - noradrenergic and dopaminergic systems of the rat brain 6.13. ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF CHILDREN'S MENTAL ACTIVITY Electroencephalography and the method of evoked potentials (EP) are widely used and accessible, non-traumatic studies of brain activity. Both methods, seemingly insufficiently informative, have received further development (rebirth) in recent decades in connection with computer processing of electroencephalogram (EEG) and EP elements. 6.13.1. Mental activity and electroencephalogram Everyday human activities (different degrees of activity during physical activity)

physical and mental work, the action of various signals, concentration of attention, the solution of physical and mathematical problems, etc.) requires different activity of the central nervous system. The EEG method, which makes it possible to study the total electrical activity, also helps to evaluate the mental activity of a person by changes in the EEG rhythms.

During intellectual activity, changes in certain EEG rhythms are observed. At the same time, many researchers note predominant changes in the low-frequency components of the EEG spectrum. A close relationship of O- and S-activity with the performance of the task was found. For example, there are characteristic changes in the EEG when the subject's attention is focused, his instructions about the upcoming activity, and solving arithmetic problems.

A. Changes in the EEG of children during instruction about the upcoming activity. In healthy children during the instruction about the forthcoming activity, the spectral power is significantly reduced a.- and O-ranges in all areas, in the frontal area, the power of the b 1 -rhythm increases.

A group of children with a delay mental development(ZPR) during this period characterize the maximum changes in the spectral power in the 8-range: in the posterior sections of the cortex, it increases, in the temporal and frontal - decreases. In contrast to the norm, the power of the 0-rhythm does not change in this situation, and the power of the a 1 - and a 2 rhythms decreases mainly in the parietal region.

In children with oligophrenia in the "instruction" state, there are no changes in the magnitude of the spectral power over the entire frequency range.

The dynamics of the coherence function in healthy subjects in this state is most pronounced in the spectrum of b 1 and b 2 ; there is a sharp decrease in the level of coherence in all pairs of areas, especially significant in the left hemisphere. In the a 2 range, the level of coherence between the left parietal and temporal regions decreases. The average and maximum coherences for the remaining components do not change during this period.

In the group of children with mental retardation, the parameter of the coherence function changes less than normal, and in opposite side: there is a slight but significant increase in the coherence function in the b 1 range throughout the left hemisphere. For other rhythms, the level of the coherence function does not change. Shifts in the coherence function in the "instruction" state in children with oligophrenia are even smaller than in the previous group.

B. Command "attention", submitted immediately before the presentation of an arithmetic problem, increases the level of readiness for the upcoming activity. EEG changes in such cases are more differentiated.

In healthy children, in the "attention" situation, there is a generalized, but mainly expressed in the left hemisphere, a decrease in power in the a 1-band. In the a 2 -range, on the contrary, the power does not fall, but locally increases on the left in the temporal and on the right in the occipital and parietal regions. Different directions of shifts of spectral components in and 1 - and a 2 -range reflects the relative independence of the functioning of low- and high-frequency a-generators and their different participation in the formation of functional relationships in this type of activity. The generalized decrease in the power of a 1 is due to activation shifts caused by increased mesencephalic-reticular influences on the cortex, especially on the structures of the left hemisphere. At the same time, local activation triggered and controlled by the higher associative sections of the cortex, primarily by the frontal structures, manifests itself in an increase in the synchronous activity of high-frequency a-generators, which has not only regional, but also hemispheric specificity.

In children with mental retardation, shifts in the power spectrum in the a 1 -range are approximately the same as in the norm. In children with oligophrenia in the "attention" situation in the left hemisphere, there is a generalized increase in power in both a-ranges of the spectrum, and in the right hemisphere, a generalized decrease in power in these ranges.

The dynamics of power in the low- and high-frequency a-bands in children with mental retardation and oligophrenia indicates a different than normal systemic organization of activity in a situation of increased readiness for activity and reflects specific features for each of the groups.

Differentiated functioning of low- and high-frequency a-generators in children with ZPR-1 is observed only in the structures of the right hemisphere. In the left hemisphere, the same type of response is noted - a generalized decrease in power in both a-bands. The weakening of local activation in the structures of the left hemisphere may be associated with the immaturity of the structures of the limbic-reticular complex, as well as with the insufficiency of the regulatory functions of the frontal cortex in the left hemisphere.

In children with mental retardation, activation effects on the EEG manifest themselves differently than in the norm. The observed changes are typical mainly for the indicators of preschool children in the norm [Alferova VV, 1974; Dubrovinskaya N.V., 1985].

In the group of children with oligophrenia, no differentiated functioning of a-generators was observed in both hemispheres. All reactions are of a global nature, due to disturbances in local activation of the cortex due to damage to the frontal parts of the hemispheres. In addition, an increase in the power of the cc-band in the structures of the left hemisphere in the “attention” situation reflects both the insufficiency of nonspecific activation effects on the cortex and the nature of the response of the cortical structures of the left hemisphere changed compared to the norm.

In the b-range of the EEG spectrum in healthy children in the "attention" situation, multidirectional changes in power in the structures of the left and right hemispheres are also observed: power decreases in the left hemisphere and increases on the right in the parietal and temporal regions.

The increase in the power of the O-rhythm in the "attention" situation is explained by the activation of the hippocampal-amygdala complex of the right hemisphere.

In children with mental retardation, there is an increase in the power of the O-rhythm in the parietal and temporal regions only in the left hemisphere. An increase in power in the 0-range in children with mental retardation, which, unlike the norm, occurs not in the right, but in the left hemisphere, indicates that they have a state of "pre-start activation" to verbal, and not to the upcoming type of intellectual activity, with which predominantly activates the structures of the right hemisphere.

In contrast to children with mental retardation, oligophrenics in the “attention” situation have a decrease in the power of the O-band in all areas of the left hemisphere and increase in the right frontal area, which may be a reflection of the emotional activation of this structure in this period.

Changes in the level of coherence in the "attention" situation were noted in the group of healthy children: coherence in the 8-band and at b-frequency decreases for the potentials of all parts of the left hemisphere. In children with mental retardation and oligophrenics, there are no significant changes in the level of coherence.

C. The process of solving arithmetic problems is characterized as a directed intellectual activity associated co complex speech, spatial, logical operations, processes of analysis and synthesis, comparison and generalization [Vygotsky L.S., 1960; Luriya A.R., 1966].

In the process of intellectual activity, new functional connections are formed brain structures. During this period, in healthy children, the power of the a 2 -band sharply drops in the left parietal region, and its decrease is noted in the left temporal region. Activation shifts in the a 1 -range are less pronounced than in the "attention" situation. In children with mental retardation, local changes in power occur: power increases in the left frontal region in the a 1 -range, power decreases in the right temporal region in the a 2 -range. In other structures, no significant changes in the α-band power compared to the previous situation are noted. In the group of children with ZPR-2, the reactivity of this parameter is less than in the group of children with ZPR-1.

Children with oligophrenia are characterized by a significant generalized drop in the power of the a^-range in the structures of the left hemisphere and a local decrease in the occipital and parietal regions on the right.

Local power variations are also observed in the 6-band of the spectrum. Normally, there is an increase in power in the frontal region on the right and in the parietal and temporal regions on the left. Decreased power in the posterior parts of the right hemisphere. Apparently, both hemispheres are involved in the implementation of arithmetic operations.

The increase in the power of the 0-rhythm during mental work is considered as a correlate of intellectual stress. According to the data of T.A. Korolkova and V.D. Trush (1980), an increase in coherence in 8- and O-rhythms is the optimal condition for the implementation of motor activity.

Mental activity of a person, his psyche function simultaneously in three interrelated levels:, subconscious and.

Unconscious level mental activity - innate instinctive-reflex activity. Behavioral acts at the unconscious level are regulated by unconscious biological mechanisms. They are aimed at satisfying biological needs - the self-preservation of the organism and the species (procreation). However, the genetically determined program of human behavior is not autonomous, it is under the control of higher and later formed brain structures. And only in certain critical situations for the individual (for example, in a state of passion), this sphere of the human psyche can go into the mode of autonomous self-regulation. This innate emotional-impulsive sphere of the individual is structurally localized in the thalamus and hypothalamus.

Subconscious level mental activity - generalized, automated in the experience of a given individual stereotypes of his behavior (skills, habits, intuition); the behavioral core of the individual, formed on early stages its development. This also includes the impulsive-emotional sphere, structurally localized in the limbic (subcortical) system of the brain. Here the unconscious aspirations of the individual, his inclinations, passions, attitudes are formed. This is an involuntary sphere of personality, "the second nature of a person", the "center" of individual behavioral stamps, manners of behavior.

The subconscious itself, obviously, has a multi-level structure: automatisms and their complexes are at the lower level, and intuition is at the highest.

Automatisms of the subconscious level - complexes of stereotypically performed actions in typical situations, dynamic stereotypes - chain sequences of reactions in a familiar environment (habitual control of technology, performance of familiar duties, manner of handling familiar objects, speech and facial cliches). All this forms a set of ready-made behavioral blocks that an individual uses when regulating his activity. These behavioral automatisms unload consciousness for more qualified activity. Consciousness is freed from constant repeated solutions to standardized tasks.

Various complexes- unfulfilled desires, suppressed aspirations, fears and anxieties, ambitions and inflated claims (Napoleon complex, narcissism, inferiority, shyness, etc.). These complexes tend to overcompensate, drawing a large energy potential in the subconscious, they form a stable subconscious orientation of the personality's behavior.

Subconscious manifestations are always present in the processes of consciousness, they are responsible for the processing of subthreshold (unconscious) influences, form unconscious urges, emotionally orient consciousness to the most significant parties activities. The subconscious is the sphere of suggested states and attitudes, including attitudes of the highest, moral level. Sensual, perceptual processes are also associated with the subconscious, with the "inferences of the eye", as G. L. F. Helmholtz said. The subconscious turns on actively in all cases when the possibilities of conscious activity are exhausted (during affects, stressful conditions, in situations of extreme mental overstrain). If in an experiment the subjects are asked to distribute the photographs of people offered to them according to the characteristics of “kind”, “evil”, “cunning”, “innocent”, etc., then, correctly completing the task, the subjects cannot determine exactly what sensory data they were guided by . There are many facts testifying to the high creative productivity of a person in a state of non-activated consciousness (the sudden discovery by F. A. Kekule of the structure of the benzene molecule, the periodic system of elements by D. I. Mendeleev in a dream, etc.).

The highest realm of the subconscious - intuition(sometimes even called superconsciousness) - the process of instantaneous insights, comprehensive coverage of the situation by the problem, the emergence of unexpected solutions, unconscious prediction of the development of events based on spontaneous generalization of previous experience. However, intuitive solutions do not arise only in the realm of the subconscious. Intuition satisfies the request of consciousness for a certain complex block of previously received information.

The extraconscious sphere is the deep sphere of his psyche, a conglomeration of archetypes, formed to a large extent in the process of human evolution. Dreams, intuition, affect, panic, hypnosis - this is not a complete list of unconscious and subconscious phenomena.

In the sphere of the extraconscious, the roots of such a phenomenon as faith are hidden. This, obviously, adjoins hope and love, various parapsychic phenomena (clairvoyance, telepathy, extrasensory phenomena). Phobias, fears, hysterical fantasies, spontaneous anxiety and joyful foreboding - all this is also the sphere of the subconscious. The willingness of the individual to act different situations in a certain way, without preliminary deliberation, impulsively also refers to manifestations of the extraconscious sphere of the psyche.

The criteria for the extraconscious are its lack of accountability, involuntariness, non-verbalization (verbal lack of formality).

Dominants of the subconscious modify the conscious activity of the individual, create psychological barriers that are incomprehensible to him and insurmountable inclinations. The mechanisms of the subconscious to a large extent typify the behavior of the individual. The sphere of the subconscious is very stable, motionless. Behavior at the subconscious level lends itself to some adjustment only by methods of psychotherapy and hypnosis.

Psychoanalysis - the theory of the division of the psyche into consciousness, preconscious and unconscious, created by 3. Freud - in our opinion, turned out to be, despite his fierce criticism, so tenacious not because of the impeccability of the constructions of the Viennese psychiatrist and psychologist, but thanks to the basic essence of the sphere of the human subconscious ( Fig. 7).

Processes that begin in the unconscious sphere can be continued in consciousness. Conversely, the conscious can be repressed into the subconscious sphere. The interaction of the conscious and extraconscious can be carried out in a coordinated, synergistic or antagonistic, contradictory way, manifesting itself in a variety of incompatible actions of a person, intrapersonal conflict.

Rice. 7. Psychoanalytic iceberg

The extraconscious sphere of the psyche is not an object of reflection, self-reflection, arbitrary self-control. The sphere of the unconscious 3. Freud considered the source of motivational energy in conflict with consciousness. Prohibitions social sphere create, according to Freud, "censorship" of consciousness, suppress the energy of subconscious drives, which manifest themselves in neurotic breakdowns. In an effort to get rid of conflict states, the individual resorts to protective mechanisms - repression, sublimation (replacement), rationalization and regression. Freud exaggerated the role of the subconscious in the behavior of the individual, and in the sphere of the subconscious - the role sexual desires, the dark forces of nature. However, his understanding of semi-consciousness as a powerful sphere of influence on consciousness is not without foundation.

Unlike 3. Freud, another psychoanalyst, C. G. Jung, not only did not oppose consciousness and the subconscious, but also believed that consciousness is based on the deep layers of the collective unconscious, archetypes - ideas formed by humanity in the distant past. The individual, according to Jung, strives for self-realization (individuation) on the basis of subconscious aspirations, conditioned by the collective subconscious. Not a thought, not consciousness, but a feeling, the subconscious tells us what is good for us and what is bad. All our involuntary reactions are under the influence of deep structures, innate programs, universal images (symbols). A person faces the problem of adapting not only to the external, but also to his inner world.

Consciousness is armed with concepts, the subconscious - with emotions and feelings. At the subconscious level, there is an instant assessment of the perceived object or phenomenon, their compliance with the norms fixed in the subconscious.

Along with consciousness (51, Ego) and subconsciousness (It, Id) 3. Freud distinguishes between Superconsciousness (Super-Ego)— fundamental essential mechanisms human psyche, such as the ability of a person to social assistance, moral self-control. The entire spiritual sphere of a person is a sphere of superconsciousness, opposing the egoistic limitations of the individual, the sphere of his ideological loftiness, moral perfection.

Conscious level mental activity - the sphere of knowledge, cultural socialization of the individual. It largely controls and inhibits instinctive drives and habits. However, this control is limited. The voluntary activity of a person, the conscious programs of his behavior interact with other areas of the psyche - genetically inherited and formed in the early stages of his ontogenetic (lifetime) formation. The selection of information for conscious self-regulation passes through subjective-emotional filters.

The famous Georgian psychologist D. N. Uznadze (1886-1950) and his followers singled out the principle installations as an integral modification of the subject, his readiness to perceive reality and act in a certain way. In the installation, according to Uznadze, the conscious and extraconscious spheres of the psyche are combined. Each behavioral situation causes the functioning of previously formed behavioral complexes.

So, the mental self-organization of the individual, his adaptation to the external environment are carried out by thundering types of relatively autonomous programs of behavior:

evolutionarily formed unconscious-instinctive;
subconscious, subjective-emotional;
conscious, arbitrary, logical-semantic programs.

Conscious behavior programs for a socialized personality are dominant behavioral patterns. However, two other areas mental life a person always play a background role in his behavior. AT extreme situations and under conditions of dssocialization of the individual, they can go into an autonomous mode of functioning.

The presence of consciousness, subconsciousness and the unconscious in the human psyche determines the relative independence of the following varieties human reactions and actions:

unconscious-instinctive, innate reactions;
impulsive-reactive, little-conscious emotional reactions; habitually automated subconscious actions; actions-skills;
conscious-volitional actions (these actions are leading in the interaction of a person with the environment).

Human consciousness is a mechanism for the conceptual regulation of its activity and behavior. Activities are specific human form activity. This human activity differs from the behavior of animals in its creative productivity and structural differentiation - the awareness of motives and goals, the use of tools and means created in the process of the cultural and historical development of mankind, the application of the skills and abilities acquired in the process of socialization.

In activity, its object and result, there is an embodiment of a mental image previously formed in the mind, an ideal model of objective activity. The very mental reflection of objects of reality depends on their place in the structure of activity. The activity coverage of subjects ensures the adequacy of their mental reflection. Human activity is connected with the understanding of the meanings of objects, and the tools used in it contain a historically developed scheme of human action.