Types of human nervous activity. Higher nervous activity of a person

GNI type is a combination of congenital and acquired properties nervous system that determine the temperament of the individual.

The concept of "type of the nervous system" and "type of GNI" are most often used as synonyms, although not all scientists agree with this, believing that with the help of conditioned reflex techniques, the features of the functioning of the cortex are to a greater extent revealed. hemispheres and to a lesser extent - features of the nervous system as a whole. However, the study of the types of GNA brings us closer to understanding the true types of the nervous system, which means it makes it possible to better understand the characterological features of a person.

By common features behavior distinguish the main types of higher nervous activity, suggesting differences in the temperaments of animals and in the characters of people.

The first attempt to divide people into groups according to their temperament belongs to Hippocrates, who described the four types of temperament most common in life: sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric and melancholic, - explaining the nature of the individual characteristics of people's behavior by the difference in the proportions of the "vital juices" of the body: blood, mucus, caustic bile and black bile.

There have been such attempts to classify temperaments according to various accompanying features. These attempts led, in particular, to constitutional theories of temperament, which were based on the position of the relationship of temperament with certain characteristics of the anatomical structure of the body.

The real nature of temperaments and characters was revealed by I.P. Pavlov, who, thanks to numerous experiments on animals and observations of people, came to the conclusion that it was necessary to put the features of the excitatory and inhibitory processes on the basis of such a division.

The first indicator of typological differences is the strength of the excitatory process, which can be ascertained from the rate of formation of conditioned reflexes. The second indicator is the strength of the braking process, determined by the rate of development of internal braking. And, finally, the third indicator - the mobility of nervous processes - is revealed in experiments with alteration of the signal values ​​of stimuli (and in a number of other additional tests).

In Pavlov's classification (as well as in Hippocrates) four types of higher nervous activity are distinguished: living type (corresponds to the sanguine of Hippocrates), characterized by the great strength of the excitatory and inhibitory processes and their high mobility (the type is strong, balanced, mobile); calm type ( corresponds to the phlegmatic of Hippocrates), which has a high strength of the excitatory and inhibitory processes, but their low mobility (the type is strong, balanced, inert ); rampant type (corresponds to Hippocrates' choleric), having a strong excitatory process with a weak inhibitory one (the type is strong, but unbalanced); weak type (corresponds to the melancholic of Hippocrates), in which the excitatory and active inhibitory processes are distinguished by low strength. The character of a person of this type depends mainly on the innate temperament. However, the upbringing received and the sum of the most complex reflexes associated with social life have a great influence on the behavior of these people.


In addition, Pavlov outlined a classification of specific human types of higher nervous activity. It is based on the nature of the interaction of the first and second human signaling systems:

medium type(with balance in the interaction of both signal systems);

artistic type(with a predominance of the first signal figurative thinking);

thinking type(where second-signal abstract thinking prevails).

Typological variants of the personality of children

With the help of psychological methods (observation of the behavior of students at school, individual conversation, characteristics of teachers, a modified children's personality questionnaire Ketell), E.M. Aleksandrovskaya and I.N. Gilyasheva (1985) identified six main typological personality variants of children of primary school age (7 - 10 years). A total of 269 children studying in a public school were examined. We studied the following personality traits:

sociability, intelligence, self-confidence, excitability, dominance, risk-taking, conscientiousness, social courage, sensitivity, anxiety, self-control, tension.

The main typological variants of personality were the following.

Harmonious type (about 36%). Children in this largest group learn easily and do not experience learning difficulties. A survey on a children's personality questionnaire reveals in them, along with enough high level the formation of intellectual functions such personal properties as sociability, self-confidence, high self-control, conscientiousness, lack of anxiety. This group is divided into fox subgroups that differ in the level of excitability: children of subgroup I (about 26%) are characterized by equilibrium , children of the II subgroup (about 10%) - pronounced motor activity .

The practical orientation of students belonging to the harmonious type is manifested in the effective mastery of educational activities, the desire for good results. The combination of these properties is a stable personality structure that provides them with quick adaptation.

Conformal type (about 12%). The behavior of schoolchildren manifests a strong dependence on the situation, the desire to conform to the environment. High school motivation, the need to advance in accordance with the established standards determine their focus on educational activities. According to the test survey, the children are quite sociable, self-confident, conscientious, have good self-control, low levels of anxiety and tension. A characteristic feature of children with a conformal personality type is the underdevelopment of cognitive activity, which makes it difficult to master the curriculum.

Dominant type (about 10%). A distinctive feature of these students is the desire for independence, domination, self-affirmation. They are sociable, active, self-confident, have social courage and risk-taking. The practical orientation of these schoolchildren is especially evident in the organization of children's games. The combination of high activity and low self-control creates adaptation difficulties associated with the assimilation of school norms of behavior.

sensitive type (about 14%). These children are timid and shy, although friendships with those they are used to are persistent. Study diligently, diligently. The dominant property, according to the test survey, is sensitivity, which is combined with such qualities as sociability, conscientiousness, high self-control, dependence.

Anxious type (about 10%). These children are characterized by extreme variability of the emotional sphere, increased impressionability; their actions are distinguished by excessive excitement, anxiety. They learn easily, they read and tell especially well. According to test data, they combine a high level of anxiety with excitability, sensitivity, self-doubt, a sense of responsibility, a good understanding of social standards,

The leading feature for children with sensitive and anxious types of personality formation is communication. It is this activity that serves as a source of emotional reinforcement, which is so necessary for them. The expectation of a positive assessment of one's actions and deeds from others determines the difficulties in the sphere of relationships. Dependency on emotional state makes it difficult for some of them to master the curriculum.

Iptroverted type (about 18%). A distinctive feature of these students is the focus on cognitive activity, a high level of intelligence development is combined with a reduced control over the surrounding reality. A test examination revealed in these children isolation, self-doubt, social timidity, and low self-control. At the same time, children have excitability, anxiety, tension. About 6% of children in this group are characterized by passivity, poverty of the motivational sphere, lack of initiative. Loneliness, isolation from others, increased sensitivity contribute to the emergence of difficulties both in the development of social norms and in establishing contacts, and ultimately lead to a conflict, subjectively difficult situation in school.

It should, however, be noted that the physiological basis for the formation of typological personality variants, in our opinion, is the strength, balance and mobility of the processes of excitation and inhibition, studied in detail by IP Pavlov and experiments on animals. An important role in the formation of these properties of the nervous system is played by the environment (working and rest conditions, the situation in the family and the team, etc.), especially in early ontogenesis.

Questions for self-study.

1. How does human GNI differ from animal GNI?

2. What is called the first signaling system?

3. What is called the second signaling system?

4. What are physiological mechanisms the first and second signal systems?

5. Provide evidence (experimental and clinical) of the influence of the cerebral cortex on functional state internal organs.

6. What is the functional asymmetry of the human brain?

7. What underlies the allocation of GNI types?

8. What is the significance (biological, medical, social) of the typological features of human GNI?

9. Name personality traits person, depending on his type of GNI.

10. What are the main stages in the development of GNI in a child? What is their essence?

11. When does a child begin to form a second signaling system?

12. What conditions contribute to the development of the child's second signaling system?

13. What are the main features of GNI in old age?

14. Name the main age-related features of mental functions.

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Individual features of human behavior, his beliefs, attitudes, habits develop gradually throughout life. The physiological basis of these features are the properties of higher nervous activity (VIA) and complex systems of conditioned reflexes, the formation of which depends on two factors: on the environment surrounding a person (family, school, society of a certain historical era, social system, practical and socio-historical human activity), and from the hereditary properties of the higher nervous activity of the individual. These properties of GNI are the strength of nervous processes (excitation and inhibition), their balance and mobility.

The most important property of higher nervous activity is the strength of nervous processes. The judgment about the degree of its severity is made on the basis of many criteria. The strength of nervous processes can be characterized by the ability of neurons to withstand prolonged excitation without going into a state of extreme inhibition under the action of a strong or long-acting stimulus. So, for example, the noise of an airplane, while not being a strong irritant for the adult passengers in it, causes prohibitive inhibition in young children with weak nervous processes.

The ability to perform long-term, uninteresting work or short-term, but high power, can serve as a characteristic of the performance of neurons. An important indicator of the strength of nervous processes is the "law of strength" formulated by I.P. Pavlov. According to this law, the magnitude of the conditioned reflex increases with increasing intensity of the conditioned stimulus. The traced dependence is clearly manifested in individuals with strong nervous processes, while in people with weak nerve cells the “law of strength” is violated: the response to a conditioned stimulus, the intensity of which increases, either does not change, or weakens (paradoxical response). One of the important manifestations of the strength of nervous processes is also resistance to the inhibitory action of extraneous stimuli.

Thus, the strength of nervous processes can be judged on the basis of several important criteria:

  • 1) the limit of the performance of nerve cells, which is determined by the threshold of transcendental inhibition, the ability for prolonged activity of low voltage or short-term, but very powerful work;
  • 2) attitudes towards the "law of force";
  • 3) resistance to the inhibitory action of extraneous stimuli.

Based on these notions, according to the strength of the nervous processes of all people can be divided into two types: strong and weak.

The second property underlying the classification of GNI types is balance between the processes of excitation and inhibition. They can be balanced, but they can also prevail one over the other. In persons with a weak nervous system, protective transboundary inhibition easily develops. Therefore, it is impossible to consider the properties of the balance of processes in them. The strong type on this basis can be divided into balanced and unbalanced. The criterion for the balance of nervous processes in persons with a strong nervous system is the following data:

  • 1) the value of the orienting reaction;
  • 2) the rate of extinction of the orienting reaction when it occurs repeatedly;
  • 3) the rate of formation of positive and negative conditioned reflexes;
  • 4) the rate of extinction of the conditioned reflex when it is not reinforced.

In individuals with a predominance of the excitatory process, the magnitude of the orienting reaction is very high, and its rate of extinction is low. In these people, positive conditioned reflexes are developed relatively quickly, but the formation of all types of internal conditioned inhibition, especially differentiation, is difficult. While in people with balanced processes of excitation and inhibition, both positive and negative reflexes are developed relatively easily. There are no particular difficulties in converting reflexes from excitatory to inhibitory and, conversely, from inhibitory to excitatory.

Finally, the third property of the nervous system is mobility - depends on the speed of mutual transitions of the processes of excitation and inhibition. The criterion for assessing mobility can be the efficiency of performing work of a high-speed nature, as well as the speed, clarity and accuracy in performing when moving from one type of occupation to another.

Thus, the use of various criteria makes it possible to judge the degree of manifestation of the main properties of GNI in different individuals. The data obtained formed the basis for the division of all people into separate types. 4 types of higher nervous activity are distinguished(Table 3). However, in a pronounced form, these four types are relatively rare. Most people belong to intermediate forms, the number of variants of which is very large. Education plays an important role in this.

Table 3

Scheme of four types of GNI according to I.P. Pavlov

Type of nervous system

Characteristics of the indicators of the nervous system according to:

Correspondence of temperaments (according to Hippocrates)

balance

mobility

Strong, unbalanced (unrestrained)

Unbalanced, predominance of excitation over inhibition

Strong, balanced, mobile

Balanced

Mobile

sanguine

Strong, balanced, inert

Inert

Phlegmatic person

Unbalanced, predominance of inhibition over excitation

melancholic

I.P. Pavlov considered the type of the nervous system as an alloy of the genotype, i.e. the hereditary basis of nervous activity (which determines the constitutional features of the organism, including temperament), with a phenotype, i.e. properties acquired as a result of upbringing.

It should be noted that the types of GNI are determined by innate qualities. However, in the process of development, as is known, hereditary properties do not remain unchanged, but are significantly transformed under the influence of the external environment.

The purposeful influence of environmental factors can have a certain effect on the properties of the nervous system. So, for example, the mobility of nervous processes can be somewhat increased under the action of rapidly changing stimuli, each of which requires a new response.

The strength of nervous processes also lends itself to a certain training. This is achieved with a gradual increase in the strength and duration of the action of stimuli.

In connection with the consideration of the types of GNI in children, the question of the practical assessment of the type of GNI in order to solve the problem of the ways in which the character and behavior of a person is formed is of great importance. According to the point of view of I.P. Pavlov, there cannot be a simple correspondence between the types of the nervous system and the nature of behavior, since behavior is an "alloy" of innate traits of the type and changes caused by the external environment. The properties of the nervous system do not determine any forms of behavior, but form the ground on which some forms of behavior are easier to form and others more difficult.

In this regard, it is difficult to give a practical assessment of each type of GNI. Until a certain time, persons with a weak nervous system were considered fatalistically inferior. However, attitudes towards this type have recently changed significantly. It is known that people with weak and strong nervous systems have both positive and negative sides. For example, a weak nervous system has little endurance ( negative side), but is characterized by high sensitivity, reactivity to the action of stimuli (positive side). In contrast, a strong nervous system has great endurance (positive side) but little sensitivity to stimuli (negative side).

Thus, each property of the nervous system, from the point of view of its vital value, can be considered as a dialectical unity of opposite manifestations.

From what has been said follows the proposition that all types of higher nervous activity have the same social value. The study of types should not be aimed at finding ways to change the properties of the nervous system, but at finding the best ways and methods of education and training (for children), as well as the organization of work and life (for adults) for each type.

Typological features of human higher nervous activity depending on the relationship between the first and second signal systems. Observing various forms of behavior, as well as the peculiarities of thinking and emotional activity of people, I.P. Pavlov proposed another classification of GNI types based on the interaction of the first and second signaling systems. According to I.P. Pavlova, there are three main types of people: thoughtful, artistic and mixed.

For people of the artistic type, the predominance of specific sensory-figurative thinking, based on the activity of a more developed first signal system of reality, is characteristic. These people are more prone to synthesis. Representatives of people with a pronounced artistic type of GNI I.P. Pavlov considered L.N. Tolstoy and I.E. Repin.

For people of the mental type, the predominance of the second signal system of reality is characteristic. They are more prone to analytical, abstract, abstract thinking. To this type vnd i.p. Pavlov attributed the famous German philosopher Hegel, the creator of the theory of the origin of species to the English scientist C. Darwin, and others.

In addition, there is a category of people who have the first and second signaling systems equally developed. People with this type are prone to both abstract and sensory-figurative thinking. Their I.P. Pavlov referred to the mixed type. To this category, among the outstanding figures of science and art, he attributed the versatile gifted Leonardo da Vinci - a brilliant artist and mathematician, anatomist and physiologist. The mixed type of GNI, according to the scientist, was possessed by the German poet and philosopher Goethe, the creator periodic system elements D.I. Mendeleev, an outstanding chemist, talented Russian composer A.P. Borodin.

Thus, in adults, depending on the ratio in the activity of the first and second signaling systems, three types of GNI are distinguished. Special studies carried out in the middle of the last century in the laboratory of A.G. Ivanov-Smolensky showed that children have similar types of GNI.

The classification of the GNI of children, built taking into account the functioning of the signaling systems, contains four types. It is based on the ability of nervous processes in children to mutual transitions from one signal system to another, from one form of thinking to another. This classification is shown in fig. 5.2.

Temperament

Question 1: The concept and structure of temperament

Temperament - a set of individually - typological personality traits that characterize the features of the dynamics of mental activity: intensity, speed, pace and rhythm of mental processes and states, behavior and activity.

Temperament is one of the most significant personality traits. Interest in this problem arose more than two and a half thousand years ago. It was caused by the obvious existence of individual differences, which are due to the peculiarities of the biological and physiological structure and development of the organism, as well as the peculiarities of social development, the uniqueness of social ties and contacts. The biologically determined structures of personality include, first of all, temperament. Temperament determines the presence of many mental differences between people, including the intensity and stability of emotions, emotional impressionability, the pace and vigor of actions, as well as a number of other dynamic characteristics.

Despite the fact that repeated and constant attempts have been made to investigate the problem of temperament, this problem still belongs to the category of controversial and not completely resolved problems of modern psychological science. Today there are many approaches to the study of temperament. However, with all the existing variety of approaches, most researchers recognize that temperament is the biological foundation on which a person is formed as a social being, and personality traits due to temperament are the most stable and long-term.

B. M. Teplov gives the following definition of temperament: “Temperament is a set of mental characteristics characteristic of a given person associated with emotional excitability, that is, the speed of feelings, on the one hand, and their strength, on the other” (Teplov B. M ., 1985). Thus, temperament has two components - activity and emotionality.



temperament structure.

There are 3 components in the structure of temperament:

1) Activity - the intensity and speed of human interaction with the environment.

2) Emotionality - characterizes the features of the emergence, course and extinction of emotional states.

3) Motor (motor) - characterizes the features of the motor sphere, namely the rate of reaction, muscle tone, intensity, rhythm and total number of movements.

Question 2: Types of temperament, their psychological characteristics.

Temperament types:

1. Choleric - low sensitivity, high reactivity, high activity, predominance of reactivity, high pace, high emotional excitability, low anxiety, rigidity, extraversion.

2. Melancholic - high sensitivity, low reactivity, low activity, low pace, high emotional excitability, high anxiety, rigidity, introversion.

3. Phlegmatic - reduced sensitivity, low reactivity, high activity (in terms of volitional regulation), low pace, low emotional excitability, low anxiety, rigidity, introversion.

4. Sanguine - low sensitivity, high reactivity, high activity, predominance of activity, high pace, high emotional excitability, low anxiety, plasticity, extraversion.

A sanguine person is a decisive, energetic, quickly excitable, mobile, impressionable person, with a bright outward expression of emotions and their easy change.

Phlegmatic - calm, slow, with a weak manifestation of feelings, it is difficult to switch from one type of activity to another.

Choleric - quick-tempered, with a high level of activity, irritable, energetic, with strong, quickly emerging emotions, clearly reflected in speech, gestures, facial expressions.

Melancholic - has a low level of neuropsychic activity, dull, dreary, with high emotional vulnerability, suspicious, prone to gloomy thoughts and with a depressed mood, withdrawn, shy.

Question 3. The physiological basis of temperament: properties and types of higher nervous activity.

According to the teachings of IP Pavlov, the individual characteristics of behavior, the dynamics of the course of mental activity depend on individual differences in the activity of the nervous system. The basis of individual differences in nervous activity is the manifestation and correlation of the properties of the two main nervous processes - excitation and inhibition.

Three properties of excitation and inhibition processes were established:

1) the strength of the processes of excitation and inhibition,

2) the balance of the processes of excitation and inhibition,

3) mobility (replacement) of the processes of excitation and inhibition.

The strength of nervous processes is expressed in the ability of nerve cells to endure prolonged or short-term, but very concentrated excitation and inhibition. This determines the performance (endurance) of the nerve cell.

Weakness of nervous processes is characterized by the inability of nerve cells to withstand prolonged and concentrated excitation and inhibition. Under the action of very strong stimuli, nerve cells quickly pass into a state of protective inhibition. Thus, in a weak nervous system, nerve cells are characterized by low efficiency, their energy is quickly depleted. But on the other hand, a weak nervous system has great sensitivity: even to weak stimuli, it gives an appropriate reaction.

An important property of higher nervous activity is the balance of nervous processes, that is, the proportional ratio of excitation and inhibition. In some people, these two processes are mutually balanced, while in others this balance is not observed: either the process of inhibition or excitation predominates.

One of the main properties of higher nervous activity is the mobility of nervous processes. The mobility of the nervous system is characterized by the rapidity of the processes of excitation and inhibition, the rapidity of their onset and termination (when life conditions require it), the rate of movement of nervous processes (irradiation and concentration), the rapidity of the appearance of the nervous process in response to irritation, the rapidity of the formation of new conditioned connections, the development of and dynamic stereotype changes.

Combinations of these properties of the nervous processes of excitation and inhibition formed the basis for determining the type of higher nervous activity. Depending on the combination of strength, mobility and balance of the processes of excitation and inhibition, four main types of higher nervous activity are distinguished.

Weak type. Representatives of the weak type of the nervous system cannot withstand strong, prolonged and concentrated stimuli. Weak are the processes of inhibition and excitation. Under the action of strong stimuli, the development of conditioned reflexes is delayed. Along with this, there is a high sensitivity (i.e., a low threshold) to the actions of stimuli.

Strong balanced type. Distinguished by a strong nervous system, it is characterized by an imbalance in the basic nervous processes - the predominance of excitation processes over inhibition processes.

Strong balanced mobile type. The processes of inhibition and excitation are strong and balanced, but their speed, mobility, and rapid change of nervous processes lead to a relative instability of the nervous connections.

Strong balanced inert type. Strong and balanced nervous processes are characterized by low mobility. Representatives of this type are outwardly always calm, even, difficult to excite.

The type of higher nervous activity refers to natural higher data; this is an innate property of the nervous system. On this physiological basis, various systems of conditioned connections can be formed, i.e., in the process of life, these conditioned connections will form differently in different people: this will be the manifestation of the type of higher nervous activity. Temperament is a manifestation of the type of higher nervous activity in human activity and behavior.

Features of a person's mental activity, which determine his actions, behavior, habits, interests, knowledge, are formed in the process of a person's individual life, in the process of education. The type of higher nervous activity gives originality to human behavior, leaves a characteristic imprint on the whole appearance of a person - determines the mobility of his mental processes, their stability, but does not determine either the behavior, or actions of a person, or his beliefs, or moral principles.

The idea of ​​the typological features of the human and animal nervous system is one of the defining ones in the doctrine of higher nervous activity. GND type- this is a complex of individual characteristics of GNI, due to hereditary factors and the influence of the environment, characterized by the strength, mobility and balance of nervous processes (excitation and inhibition) and a certain ratio of the first and second signal systems.

The most important property of GNI is the strength of nervous processes. The strength of nervous processes is understood as the ability of neurons to withstand prolonged excitation without going into transcendental inhibition under the action of a strong stimulus. According to the strength of the nervous processes, all people can be divided into two types: strong and weak.

The second property underlying the classification of HNI types is the balance between the processes of excitation and inhibition. They can be balanced, but they can also prevail one over the other. In persons with a weak nervous system, protective transboundary inhibition easily develops. Therefore, it is impossible to consider the property of the balance of processes in them. The strong type on this basis can be divided into balanced and unbalanced.

The third property of the nervous system is mobility, which is characterized by the speed of mutual transitions of the processes of excitation and inhibition. In accordance with this, I.P. Pavlov identified four types of GNI of animals and humans (Fig. 13.4), which made it possible to give a scientific explanation for the existence of four types of Hippocratic temperament - sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, melancholic.

1. Strong balanced mobile (live) type- the processes of excitation and inhibition are well expressed, balanced and easily pass one into another. People easily overcome difficulties (strength), are able to quickly navigate in a new environment (mobility), with great self-control (poise).

2. Strong balanced inert (calm) type- a person is endowed with good strength of nervous processes and balance, but low mobility, inertia of nervous processes. People are efficient (strength), but slow, do not like to change their habits (inertia).

3. Strong unbalanced (unrestrained) type- characterized by a strong process of excitation, which prevails over inhibition. People who are very addicted, who can do a lot (strength), but are very quick-tempered and unpredictable (unbalanced).

4. Weak type- characterized by weak excitation processes and easily occurring inhibitory reactions. People are weak-willed, afraid of difficulties, easily subject to other people's influence, prone to a melancholy mood.

Rice. 13.4. Scheme of types of higher nervous activity (according to I.P. Pavlov)


Belonging to one or another type of GNI does not at all mean an assessment of the biological fitness of an animal or the social usefulness of a person. This is evidenced at least by the fact that all four general types of the nervous system of animals have withstood the merciless test of time in evolution. There is no reason to consider people of different types of nervous system as people of “different sorts”. Everyone is needed and can find their place in life.

Observing various forms of behavior, the peculiarities of thinking and emotional activity of people, I.P. Pavlov proposed another classification of GNI types, based on the interaction of I and II signaling systems. According to Pavlov, there are three types of people: thinking, artistic and mixed.

1. For people artistic type the predominance of concrete-figurative thinking, based on the activity of the more developed first signal system of reality, is characteristic. These people are most prone to synthesis. Representatives of people with a pronounced artistic type I.P. Pavlov considered L.N. Tolstoy and I.E. Repin.

2. For people thinking type characteristic is the predominance of the second signal system of reality. They are more prone to analytical, abstract, abstract thinking. To this type of GNI I.P. Pavlov attributed the famous German philosopher Hegel, the creator of the theory of the origin of species to the English scientist C. Darwin.

3. There are categories of people who have the first and second signaling systems equally developed. People with this type are prone to both abstract and sensory-figurative thinking. Their I.P. Pavlov referred to mixed type. Among the outstanding figures of science and art, Pavlov attributed the versatile gifted Leonardo da Vinci, a brilliant artist and mathematician, anatomist and physiologist, to this category. The mixed type of GNI, according to the scientist, was possessed by the German poet and philosopher Goethe, the creator of the periodic system of elements D.I. Mendeleev, an outstanding chemist, talented Russian composer A.P. Borodin.

brain asymmetry

In the vast majority of people, the motor activity of the arms, legs, left and right halves of the body, faces are not the same. The perception of objects located to the left or to the right of the median plane of the body is also ambiguous. In other words, man has motor and sensory asymmetry. To perform labor operations in everyday life, most people use right hand, i.e. are right-handed. At the same time, the right hand is superior to the left in dexterity, strength, speed of reaction, in the ability to clearly perform complexly coordinated actions. A much smaller part of humanity (left-handers) uses the left hand for the same purposes. In addition, there are people who equally use both hands - the so-called ambidexters. A stable preference for one of the hands is inherent only in a person who stands out on this basis from other groups of living beings. The proportion of left-handers, according to various authors, ranges from 1 to 30%. Motor and sensory asymmetries, i.e. the dominant of the hands (legs) and the sense organs (vision, hearing, touch) in each individual may not coincide.

In newborns, both hands are equal. If in the first years of life there are preferences in their use, then they are not long and can change many times. Only in the fifth year of life, the right hand of future right-handed people gradually begins to take over all the complex activities. It is assumed that the opposite process occurs in old age, and the unevenness of the hands is gradually smoothed out.

In girls and women, the asymmetry of the hands is less pronounced, and left-handers among them are 1.5-2 times less than among the representatives of the "strong" sex. Improving the functions of the brain of girls is stretched over a longer period and is done slowly. In boys, already at the age of six, many functions are performed separately by the right and left hemispheres of the brain, and in girls 2 times older, specialization of the brain is often just beginning.

It is especially interesting that left-handed twins are significantly more common than single-born twins, and both twins are rarely left-handed. Usually one of the twins always becomes right-handed. If the twins are of different sexes, then the boy becomes left-handed more often. Among Siamese twins, as a rule, one is right-handed, the other is left-handed.

In right-handed people, Broca's speech center is in the left hemisphere of the brain. In the right part of the cerebral hemisphere there is a structurally identical area of ​​the brain, the defeat of which, however, does not lead to any consequences for them. On the contrary, in case of failure of the left motor area of ​​speech, motor aphasia occurs in right-handed people. In any case, in about 3% of the population, the speech area exhibits full functional ability in both hemispheres of the brain. It is noteworthy that the right region is not always the dominant speech center in left-handed people - in most cases, the dominant speech center is also located in the left temporal lobe of the brain. With a prolonged violation of Broca's speech center, the right hemisphere can gradually take over its functions. If in a child the process of redistribution of the functions of the cerebral hemispheres proceeds relatively quickly (about a year), then with age, the reserve function more and more remains with the right hemisphere. The localization of Broca's speech area in the left hemisphere of the brain is, apparently, the most characteristic example of the specialization of both hemispheres. All other functions of the brain do not have such a pronounced dominant.

As you know, between the two hemispheres of the brain is the corpus callosum, in which millions of nerve endings create an intense transverse connection. A more pronounced corpus callosum in women is one of the reasons for the less asymmetry of the cerebral hemispheres in them. If this corpus callosum is dissected, then each hemisphere of the brain will be isolated, left to itself. The right hemisphere can still control the movements of the left arm and left leg (there is a crossing of nerve fibers in the spinal cord so that the neurons of the right hemisphere enter the nerve pathways to the left side of the body). For example, when palpating a nail with the left hand, the impressions received freely reach the brain and consciousness, but the patient is not able to name this object, since the verbal designation is responsible for Broca's speech center located in the left hemisphere, the connection with which is interrupted as a result of the dismemberment of the corpus callosum. When feeling objects with the right hand, such problems do not arise. Speech Center receives necessary information. The same happens if the object is viewed only with the left field of vision or the sound is perceived only with the left ear.

The above examples show that the left hemisphere of the brain plays a leading role in the implementation of the speech function. But this does not mean that the right hemisphere is unnecessary or secondary. For example, in areas such as orientation in space, recognition of shapes and understanding of music, voice intonation, it surpasses the left hemisphere.

The specialization of both hemispheres of the brain allows us to conclude that the human brain to a certain extent has the ability to " self repair» in violation of the functions of one or another hemisphere. When one hemisphere fails, the second can turn on without reaching the full efficiency of the dominant hemisphere. This fact is of fundamental importance, for example, in the case of damage (death) of brain tissue after a stroke; intensive long-term exercises can lead to a significant restoration of the functions of the hemisphere and, to a certain extent, restore lost skills. Of course, this process is slow and does not always lead to full functional recovery, but in most cases it is possible.

It has been established that the right hemisphere is responsible for homeostasis, therefore, it provides biological adaptation, and the left hemisphere provides social adaptation. It is no coincidence that women in whom interhemispheric asymmetry is less pronounced have, as a rule, a more perfect strategy for adapting to various conditions.

Differences between the functions of the right and left hemispheres are shown in Table 13.1.

Table 13.1.

Interhemispheric asymmetry

Left hemisphere Right hemisphere
BETTER RECOGNIZING INCENTIVES
verbal Not verbal
Easily distinguishable hard to see
iconic Unsigned
BETTER TASKS PERFORMED
For a temporary relationship on spatial relationships
Establishing similarities Difference setting
Identity of stimuli by name Identity of stimuli by physical properties
Creative, where fantasy is needed Dislike creative tasks
FEATURES OF PERCEPTION
Analytical Perception Holistic perception
Consistent Perception Simultaneous perception
Generalized recognition concrete recognition
FEATURES OF BEHAVIOR AND PSYCHE
Abstract logical thinking Concrete-figurative thinking
Based on reality Based on fantasy
Perception of the native language Perception foreign languages
Have a good underline Have bad handwriting
Work is completed on time, there is a sense of time Don't finish work on time, no sense of time
Leading voluntary attention Long-lasting involuntary attention
good concentration Greater distractibility

Our educational system, as well as our science, generally tends to ignore the non-verbal form of intelligence. Thus, modern society discriminates the right hemisphere. In 1981, the American neurologist R. Sperry received the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the functional asymmetry of the brain.

Sleep physiology

Sleep is a periodic functional state of a person, characterized by the absence of purposeful activity and active connections with the environment. During sleep, brain activity does not decrease, but is rebuilt. A third of a person's life is spent sleeping: he sleeps for 25 out of 75 years.

An analysis of a number of facts was given by I.P. Pavlov to the conclusion that sleep and conditioned inhibition are by their nature a single process. The only difference between them is that conditioned inhibition during wakefulness covers only individual groups of neurons, while during the development of sleep, inhibition radiates through the cortex of the cerebral hemispheres, spreading to the underlying parts of the brain.

Sleep developing in humans and animals under the influence of conditioned inhibitory stimuli, I.P. Pavlov called active sleep, contrasting it with passive sleep, which occurs in cases of cessation or sharp restriction of the influx of afferent signals to the cerebral cortex. big brain.

The importance of afferent signaling in maintaining the state of wakefulness was shown by I.M. Sechenov, who cites well-known clinical practice cases of the onset of prolonged sleep in patients suffering from common disorders of the sense organs.

In the clinic, a patient was observed who, of all the sense organs, retained the functions of only one eye and one ear. As long as the eye could see and the ear could hear, the person was awake, but as soon as the doctors closed these only ways for the patient to communicate with the outside world, the patient immediately fell asleep. HELL. Speransky and V.S. Galkin cut the dog's optic and olfactory nerves and destroyed both cochleas of the inner ear. After such an operation, the dog fell into a sleepy state, which lasted over 23 hours a day. She woke up only for a short time from hunger or from overflowing of the rectum and bladder.

All these facts received a new explanation after the functional significance of the reticular formation was established and the interaction between it and the cerebral cortex was elucidated.

Afferent signals passing through the reticular formation of the midbrain and nonspecific nuclei of the thalamus to the cerebral cortex have an activating effect on it and maintain an active state. The elimination of these influences (when several receptor systems are affected or as a result of the destruction of the reticular formation or the shutdown of its functions under the action of certain narcotic drugs, for example, barbiturates) leads to the onset of deep sleep. In turn, the reticular formation of the brain stem is under the continuous tonic influence of the cerebral cortex.

Rice. 13.6. Scheme of the interaction of "sleep centers" and "awakening" structures during wakefulness and the onset of sleep (according to P.K. Anokhin). A. Waking. Cortical influences (I) inhibit the "sleep centers" (II) and the ascending activating influences of the reticular structures (III) and excitations going along the lemniscal pathways (IV) freely reach the cortex. B. Dream. Inhibited sections of the cortex (I) cease to have a restraining effect on the "sleep centers" (II), they block ascending activating influences (III), without affecting excitations along the lemniscal pathways (IV).

The existence of a two-way connection between the cerebral cortex and the reticular formation plays an important role in the mechanism of sleep initiation. Indeed, the development of inhibition in areas of the cortex reduces the tone of the reticular formation, and this weakens its ascending activating effect, which entails a decrease in the activity of the entire cerebral cortex. Thus, inhibition that initially occurs in a limited area of ​​the cortex can cause inhibition of neurons in the entire cortex of the cerebral hemispheres.

One of the attempts to create a unified theory of sleep was undertaken by P.K. Anokhin (Fig. 13.6). In his hypothesis, he proceeded from the fact that the hypothalamic "sleep centers" are under a tonic inhibitory influence from the cerebral cortex. With the weakening of this influence due to a decrease in the working tone of the cortical cells (“active sleep” according to I.P. Pavlov), the hypothalamic structures seem to be “released” and determine the whole complex picture of the redistribution of vegetative components that is characteristic of the state of sleep. At the same time, the hypothalamic centers have a depressing effect on the ascending activating system, stopping access to the cortex of the entire complex of activating influences (“passive sleep” according to I.P. Pavlov). These interactions appear to be cyclic, so the sleep state can be induced artificially (or as a result of a pathological process) by acting on any part of the cycle.

sleep stages

During a night's sleep, a person has 3-5 periodic shifts of slow and fast sleep.

Slow-wave sleep (orthodox) REM sleep (paradoxical)
The physiological state of the body
Comes after falling asleep, lasts 60-90 minutes. The metabolism and activity of the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive and excretory systems decrease, muscle tone drops, muscles relax, the temperature drops. It is believed that a decrease in body temperature may be one of the reasons for the onset of sleep. Awakening is accompanied by an increase in body temperature. Comes after slow sleep, lasts 10-15 minutes. The activity of the internal organs is activated: the pulse, respiration increases, the temperature rises, the oculomotor muscles contract (the eyes move quickly), facial muscles, there is no skeletal muscle tone.
Mental processes of the brain
Dreams reflect the processes of thinking and retelling the events of the past day, they are abstract and cognitive. There may be a conversation in a dream, there are night terrors in children and sleepwalking (sleepwalking). Excitation of neurons in the occipital lobes. The appearance of realistic emotional dreams with visual, sound and olfactory images. There is a classification and ordering of the information received during the day, memory consolidation. Depriving a person of this type of sleep leads to memory disorders and mental illness.
Dreams of I.M. Sechenov called unprecedented combinations of experienced impressions

Based on the electroencephalographic picture, the phase of "slow sleep" is, in turn, divided into several stages.

Stage I - drowsiness, the process of falling asleep. The EEG is dominated by α- and θ-rhythms, at the end of the stage, K-complexes appear (series of high-amplitude slow potentials lasting 3-5 s).

Stage II - superficial sleep (sleep spindle stage). On the EEG, there are K-complexes and sleep spindles appear (frequency is about 15 Hz, a variant of the α-rhythm). Their appearance coincides with the turning off of consciousness; the stage occupies about 50% of the sleep time and increases in duration from the first to the last cycle.

Stage III - deep sleep (delta sleep), characterized by the presence of a ∆-rhythm with a frequency of 3.0-3.5 Hz, which occupies up to 30% of the EEG.

Stage IV - the stage of "REM" or "paradoxical sleep", is characterized by the presence of a δ-rhythm with a frequency of approximately 1 Hz, which occupies up to 30% of the EEG. Stages III and IV are present in the first sleep cycles and are absent in the last ones (before awakening).

Night sleep usually consists of 4-5 cycles, each of which begins with the first stages of "slow" sleep and ends with "REM" sleep. The duration of the cycle in a healthy adult is relatively stable and is 90-100 minutes. In the first two cycles, "slow" sleep prevails, in the last - "fast", and "delta" sleep is sharply reduced and may even be absent.

The duration of "slow" sleep is 75-85%, and "paradoxical" - 15-25% of the total duration of night sleep.

The physiological role of sleep.

· Restorative function- the predominance of anabolism processes.

· Antistress function- sleep is one of the mechanisms of mental protection of the individual.

· adaptive function- synchronization with the cycle of day and night ensures optimal interaction of the body with the environment, preparing the body for activities during wakefulness.

· Role in information processing- implementation of the process of memory consolidation: the transfer of information from short-term to long-term memory.

Sleep types.

1. periodic daily sleep;

2. periodic seasonal sleep (winter or summer hibernation of animals);

3. narcotic sleep caused by various chemical or physical agents;

4. hypnotic sleep;

5. pathological sleep.

The first two types are varieties of physiological sleep, the last three types are the result of special non-physiological effects on the body.

Sleep disturbance. Sleep disorders are very common among the population of civilized countries. Insomnia is a chronic disease associated with a violation of the synchronization of the biological clock with circadian rhythms. Sleep disorders are noted in 45% of the urban population. Among rural residents, insomnia is much less common.

Sleep disorders fall into three main forms:

1. Difficulty falling asleep. It occurs most frequently. A person suffering from this type of insomnia cannot fall asleep for a long time: disturbing memories and thoughts that constantly pile up on each other interfere with sleep. All efforts and painful attempts to fall asleep lead to nothing. The very anxiety for sleep, the tense expectation of it, the fear of the upcoming sleepless night, anxiety for a hard day after a sleepless night further exacerbate insomnia. A person suffering from insomnia cannot stay in one position for a long time, constantly turns in bed in search of the most comfortable position, and cannot fall asleep for a long time.

2. Superficial, restless sleep with frequent awakenings. Such people usually wake up 1-2 hours after falling asleep. The duration of falling asleep after waking up in the middle of the night ranges from several minutes to several hours. However, it also happens that after waking up once, a person does not fall asleep until the morning, and only then does superficial sleep begin. Usually people who wake up often complain of a superficial sleep that does not bring satisfaction and cheerfulness.

3. Early final awakening. This sleep disorder is less common. After it, there are no signs of drowsiness, and the person is awake. Early awakening is similar to awakening in the middle of the night, but differs only in that it is not followed by falling asleep and that it comes from a drowsy state and light sleep (the first awakening occurs after deep sleep). People who have an increased excitability of the nervous system wake up prematurely.

Reduced sleep duration - one of the constant signs of insomnia - is relatively rarely pronounced. With partial insomnia, there are periods of wakefulness at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the night. With total insomnia, wakefulness predominates, only occasionally interrupted by drowsiness. This type of insomnia is much less common.

Sleep disorders include increased drowsiness, the so-called hypersomnia. Drowsiness can be observed in people with a weak nervous system: in this case, it can be considered as a protective reaction that protects nerve cells from overexertion.

In contrast to insomnia, increased pathological sleepiness leads to prolonged sleep, which is often the result of inflammatory diseases of the brain, such as viral encephalitis. In these cases, sleep can last weeks and months, and even, in rare cases, years. Such a dream is called lethargic.

Pathological drowsiness most often occurs in people who have had serious infectious diseases - typhus, meningitis, influenza. Drowsiness occurs with anemia and functional disorders of the nervous system.

Unlike insomnia, excessive sleepiness is less common.

Recent studies to determine the duration of sleep required have shown that the average need for sleep in young people is 8.5 hours per night. The duration of a night's sleep of 7.2-7.4 hours is insufficient, and sleeping less than 6.5 hours for a long time can undermine health.

The effect of "accumulation of lack of sleep" completely disappears after the first 10 hours of the "recovery" sleep period. Therefore, chronic lack of sleep on weekdays and oversleeping in the mornings on weekends are interrelated phenomena.

Artificially depriving a person of sleep is an ordeal. Experiments with sleep deprivation have shown that volunteers experience emotional imbalance, increased fatigue, delusions, sleep disturbance, vestibular dysfunctions, hallucinations appear after 90 hours of sleep deprivation, depersonalization by 170 hours, and mental and psychomotor disorders by the 200th hour. . During these experiments, it was found that the body especially needs non-REM (delta) sleep and REM sleep. After prolonged sleep deprivation, the main effect is an increase in delta sleep. Thus, after 200 hours of continuous wakefulness, the percentage of delta sleep in the first 9 hours of registration of restorative sleep doubles compared to the norm, and the duration of REM sleep increases by 57%.

In order to study the role of individual sleep phases, methods have been developed to selectively prevent their occurrence. With the suppression of delta sleep, the subjects develop a feeling of weakness, fatigue, memory deteriorates and attention decreases. The feeling of weakness and increased fatigue, especially growing towards the second half of the day, in patients with neurosis is due to a chronic deficit of delta sleep (V.S. Rotenberg, 1984).

REM sleep deprivation changes mood, impairs performance, affects memory.

Sleep hygiene. Good sleep can be ensured by following certain rules. Before going to bed, it is necessary to exclude exciting games, mental work. The time after dinner should be spent in a calm atmosphere, excluding strong excitement. It is recommended to walk for 20-30 minutes before going to bed in calm weather. Dinner should be light 1.5-2 hours before bedtime. Chocolate, coffee and strong tea at night are not recommended.

Fresh, cool air in the bedroom helps you fall asleep faster and sleep deeper. The optimal temperature in the sleeping room is 15-16 ºС.

The concept of the type of higher nervous activity. Conditioned reflex activity depends on the individual properties of the nervous system. The individual properties of the nervous system are determined hereditary features individual and his life experience. The totality of these properties is called the type of higher nervous activity.
properties of nervous processes. I.P. Pavlov, on the basis of many years of studying the features of the formation and course of conditioned reflexes in animals, identified 4 main types of higher nervous activity. He based the division into types on three main indicators:

1) strength processes of excitation and inhibition;
2) balance, i.e. e. the ratio of the strength of the processes of excitation and inhibition;
3) mobility processes of excitation and inhibition, i.e., the speed with which excitation can be replaced by inhibition, and vice versa.

Classification of types of higher nervous activity. Based on the manifestation of these three properties, I. P. Pavlov singled out:

1) the type is strong, but unbalanced, with a predominance of excitation over inhibition ("unrestrained" type);
2) the type is strong, balanced, with great mobility of nervous processes (“live”, mobile type);
3) the type is strong, balanced, with low mobility of nervous processes (“calm”, inactive, inert type);
4) weak type with rapid exhaustion of nerve cells, leading to loss of efficiency.

IP Pavlov believed that the main types of higher nervous activity found in animals coincide with the four temperaments established in humans by the Greek physician Hippocrates, who lived in the 4th century BC. e. The weak type corresponds to the melancholic temperament; strong unbalanced type - choleric temperament; strong balanced, mobile type - sanguine temperament; strong balanced, with low mobility of nervous processes - phlegmatic temperament.
However, it should be borne in mind that the hemispheres of the human brain, as social beings, have a more perfect synthetic activity than in animals. A person is characterized by a qualitatively special nervous activity associated with the presence of his speech function.
Depending on the interaction, balance of signaling systems, I.P. Pavlov, along with four types common to humans and animals, singled out specially human types of higher nervous activity:

1. Artistic type. It is characterized by the predominance of the first signal system over the second. This type includes people who directly perceive reality, widely use sensory images, they are characterized by figurative, objective thinking.
2. Thinking type. These are people with a predominance of the second signaling system, "thinkers", with a pronounced ability for abstract thinking.
3. Most people belong to the average type with a balanced activity of the two signaling systems. They are characterized by both figurative impressions and speculative conclusions.


Plasticity of types of higher nervous activity. The innate properties of the nervous system are not immutable. They can change to some extent under the influence of education due to the plasticity of the nervous system. The type of higher nervous activity is made up of the interaction of the inherited properties of the nervous system and the influences that the individual experiences in the process of life.
I. P. Pavlov called the plasticity of the nervous system the most important pedagogical factor. The strength and mobility of nervous processes are amenable to training, and children of an unbalanced type, under the influence of education, can acquire traits that bring them closer to representatives of a balanced type. Prolonged overstrain of the inhibitory process in children of a weak type can lead to a "breakdown" of higher nervous activity, the emergence of neuroses. Such children hardly get used to the new mode of work and need special attention.
Age features of conditioned reflexes. Types of higher nervous activity of the child. The adaptive reactions of a born child to external influences are provided by orienting reflexes. Conditioned reflexes in the neonatal period are very limited and are developed only to vital stimuli. Already in the first days of a child's life, the formation of a natural conditioned reflex to the time of feeding can be noted, which is expressed in the awakening of children and increased motor activity. The sucking movements of the lips appear before the nipple is inserted into the mouth. It is clear that such a reflex manifests itself only with a strict regimen of feeding children. With a strict feeding regimen on the 6-7th day, infants experience a conditioned reflex increase in the number of leukocytes as early as 30 minutes before feeding, they have increased gas exchange before eating. By the end of the second week, a conditioned reflex in the form of sucking movements appears on the position of the child for feeding. Here the signal is a complex of stimuli acting from the receptors of the skin, motor and vestibular apparatus constantly combined with food reinforcement.
From the middle of the first month of life, conditioned reflexes to various primary signal stimuli arise: light, sound, olfactory stimuli.
The rate of formation of conditioned reflexes in the first month of life is very low and increases rapidly with age. Thus, a protective reflex to light occurs only after 200 combinations, if its production is started on the 15th day after birth, and less than 40 combinations are required if the development of the same reflex is started in a one and a half month old child. From the first days of a child's life, unconditional (external) inhibition appears. The baby stops suckling if a sharp sound is suddenly heard. Conditional (internal) inhibition is developed later. Its appearance and strengthening are determined by the maturation of the nerve elements of the cerebral cortex. The first manifestations of differentiation of conditioned motor reflexes were noted by the 20th day of life, when the child begins to differentiate the feeding position from the swaddling procedure. A clear differentiation of visual and auditory conditioned stimuli is observed at 3-4 months. Other types of internal inhibition are formed later than differentiation. Thus, the development of delayed inhibition becomes possible from the age of 5 months (M. M. Koltsova).
The development of internal inhibition in a child is an important factor in education. In the first year of life, it is expedient to cultivate inhibition by using facial expressions and gestures that characterize the negative attitude of adults, or stimuli that distract the child's attention, i.e., are an external brake. For the correct development of the child of the first year of life, a strict regimen is very important - certain sequence alternating sleep, wakefulness, feeding, walking. This is determined by the significance of the stereotype of interoceptive conditioned reflexes at this age. By the end of the first year, complexes of external exteroceptive stimuli, which characterize the situation as a whole, become important. One of the important components of the complex of stimuli is the word.
The first signs of the development of the second signaling system appear in a child in the second half of the first year of life. In the process of child development, the sensory mechanisms of speech, which determine the possibility of perceiving a word, are formed earlier than the motor ones, with which the ability to speak is associated. The period of formation of a function is especially sensitive to formative influences, so it is necessary to talk with a child from the first days of his life. When caring for a child, you need to name all your actions, name the surrounding objects. This is very important, since in order to form connections of the second signaling system, it is necessary to combine the verbal designation of objects, phenomena surrounding people with their specific image - to combine the primary signal stimuli with the secondary signal stimuli.
By the end of the first year of life, the word becomes a significant stimulus. However, during this period, the reaction of children to the word does not have an independent meaning, it is determined by a complex of stimuli, and only later the word acquires the meaning of an independent signal (M. M. Koltsova). During the first year of life, the child actively trains in the pronunciation of individual sounds, then syllables, and finally words. The formation of speech function requires a certain maturity of the peripheral apparatus - the tongue, muscles of the larynx, lips, their coordinated activity.
The mechanism of speech reproduction is associated with a complex coordinated work of the nerve centers of the cortex, the formation of certain connections between speech centers and motor zones. A close relationship of speech function with motor activity, especially with finely coordinated finger movements, is shown. By developing finely coordinated actions, one can accelerate the formation of speech skills.
The child's speech develops especially intensively between the ages of 1 and 3 years. At this age, the behavior of the child is characterized by a pronounced research activities. The child reaches for each object, feels, looks inside, tries to pick it up, takes it in his mouth. At this age, injuries easily occur due to curiosity, lack of experience, the frequency of acute infections increases due to the expansion of the child's contacts with other children and his environment.
The conditioned reflex activity of children of this age changes significantly. In the second year of life, separate objects begin to emerge from the generalized undifferentiated world surrounding the child as separate complexes of stimuli. This is made possible by manipulating objects. Therefore, one should not restrict the movements of children: let them dress themselves, wash themselves, and eat.
Thanks to actions with objects, the function of generalization begins to form in children. The wide use of objects develops a motor analyzer in a child.
In the second year of life, a large number of conditioned reflexes are formed in the child to the ratio of the size, severity, distance of objects (singling out faster and slower stimuli, larger or smaller in comparison with others). Of particular importance is the development of systems of conditional connections to stereotypes of exteroceptive stimuli. In early childhood, dynamic stereotypes are especially important. With insufficient strength and mobility of nervous processes, stereotypes facilitate the adaptation of children to environment, they are the basis for the formation of habits and skills. Attention is drawn to the great strength of the system of conditioned connections developed in children under 3 years of age, and the associated pain due to the violation of the stereotype: children are capricious, cry if they stay with them for a long time; do not fall asleep for a long time if they are put in a new place. For children under the age of 3, the development of a large number of different stereotypes is not only not difficult, but each subsequent stereotype is developed more and more easily. However, changing the order of stimuli in one stereotype is an extremely difficult task. The systems of conditional connections developed at this time retain their significance throughout the entire subsequent life of a person, therefore the formation of stereotypes that are beneficial for health and have educational value is especially important at this age.
In the second year, an enhanced development of speech begins, the child masters the grammatical structure of the language, while a large role belongs to imitative reflex. An adult, communicating with a child, should pay special attention to the correctness of his speech.
At this stage of development, the mastery of actions with objects has a decisive influence on the formation of a generalization of objects in a word, i.e., the formation of a second signal system.
In the process of development of the child in the development of new reactions, everything greater value acquires the use of previously formed connections. The systems of conditional connections developed in the early and preschool age(up to 5 years), are especially durable and retain their value throughout life. This fact is of great importance for pedagogical practice. The habits and skills brought up at this age, which have arisen on the basis of strong conditioned reflex connections, largely determine a person's behavior.
At preschool age, the role of the imitative and game reflex is very great. Children copy adults, their gestures, words, manners.
By the end of the preschool period, there are significant changes in the interaction of excitatory and inhibitory processes. As the cerebral cortex develops, the generalization of the excitatory process is gradually removed. Internal, conditional inhibition is forming and becoming increasingly important. Differentiations are better developed, the periods of retention of inhibition become longer. All this contributes to a more selective and adequate response of the child to external influences. At this age, the generalizing function of the word is enhanced, the ability to generalize with the word not only specific objects, but also many objects of the outside world, categories of objects. So, the child begins to understand that a doll, a bear, a car are all toys, and toys, furniture, dishes, clothes are things. In older preschool age, the reflection of reality is already based on the development of complex systems of connections, including the interaction of the first and second signal systems.
By the age of 6-7 years, reactivity to verbal stimuli improves. The nature of the interaction between the first and second signal systems changes. In 3-4-year-old children, the first signaling system prevails and has an inhibitory effect on the second. At 6-7 years of age, the increasing activity of the second signaling system has an overwhelming effect on the first signaling system. The development of the second signaling system is one of the important indicators of a child's readiness for schooling.
At primary school age, as the cerebral cortex progressively matures, the strength, balance and mobility of nervous processes improve. The development of cortical inhibition processes creates conditions for the rapid and differentiated formation of conditioned connections. The formation of connections in the higher parts of the CNS is facilitated by the intensive maturation at this age of intracortical associative pathways that unite various nerve centers. In the process of teaching writing and reading, the generalizing function of the word continues to develop intensively. The value of the second signal system is increasing.
Some changes in conditioned reflex activity are noted in adolescence. Beginning puberty is characterized by increased activity of the hypothalamus. This causes a change in the balance of cortical-subcortical interaction, resulting in an increase in generalized excitation and a weakening of internal inhibition. In comparison with the previous age group, the formation of temporary connections is difficult in adolescence. The rate of formation of conditioned reflexes to both primary and secondary signal stimuli decreases. Features of the higher nervous activity of adolescents require an attentive attitude towards them, a thoughtful organization of the educational process.
Typological features of the higher nervous activity of the child. The formation of individual typological features in the process of ontogenesis is determined by the gradual maturation of higher nerve centers. As will be shown below, in the process of child development there is a change in the relationship between the cerebral cortex and subcortical structures. This determines the peculiarities of the excitatory and inhibitory processes in childhood, and, consequently, the specificity of the manifestation of typological features.
N. I. Krasnogorsky, studying the higher nervous activity of a child on the basis of strength, balance, mobility of nervous processes, the relationship of the cortex and subcortical formations, the relationship between signal systems, identified 4 types of nervous activity in childhood.

1. Strong, balanced, optimally excitable, fast type. It is characterized by the rapid formation of conditioned reflexes, the strength of these reflexes is significant. Children of this type are capable of developing subtle differentiations. Their unconditioned reflex activity is regulated by a functionally strong cortex. Children of this type have a well-developed speech with a rich vocabulary.
2. Strong, balanced, slow type. In children of this type, conditioned connections are formed more slowly, extinct reflexes are also restored slowly. Children of this type are characterized by a pronounced control of the cortex over unconditioned reflexes and emotions. They quickly learn to speak, only their speech is somewhat slow. Active and racks when performing complex tasks.
3. Strong, unbalanced, hyperexcitable, unrestrained type. It is characterized by insufficiency of the inhibitory process, strongly pronounced subcortical activity, not always controlled by the cortex. Conditioned reflexes in such children quickly fade away, and the resulting differentiations are unstable. Children of this type are characterized by high emotional excitability, irascibility, affects. Speech in children of this type is fast with separate shouting.
4. Weak type with reduced excitability. Conditioned reflexes are formed slowly, unstable, speech is often slow. Lightweight type. Characteristic is the weakness of internal inhibition with strongly pronounced external brakes, which explains the difficulty of children getting used to new learning conditions, their changes. Children of this type do not tolerate strong and prolonged irritations, they easily get tired.

Significant differences in the basic properties of nervous processes in children belonging to different types determine their different functional capabilities in the process of education and upbringing. The effectiveness of pedagogical influences is largely determined by an individual approach to students, taking into account their typological characteristics. However, we have already pointed out that one of the distinguishing features types of higher nervous activity of a person is their plasticity. The plasticity of the cells of the cerebral cortex, their adaptability to changing environmental conditions is the morphofunctional basis of type transformation. Since the plasticity of nervous structures is especially great during the period of their intensive development, pedagogical influences that correct typological features are especially important to apply in childhood. I. P. Pavlov considered the plasticity of types the most important feature which allows to educate, train and remake the character of people.

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