Difference between acquired experience and instincts
Acquired behavioral programs differ cardinally from innate instinctive activity (for example, the behavior of the Sphex wasp). The main difference lies in flexibility: relying on memory, the animal reacts to leading conditioned signals that immediately direct it toward reinforcement.
In a formed skill, intermediate stage results that are not essential for satisfying the dominant need are simply ignored. The organism does not need to reproduce the entire chain of actions from scratch every time if the shortest path to a useful result is already fixed in memory.
Stages of formation of adaptive activity
The process of learning and information fixation in memory can be analyzed using the example of the feeding motivation of a puppy placed in an unfamiliar room:
- Initial entry into the environment. Genetic mechanisms are triggered: feeding motivation and the orienting-exploratory reaction. The animal actively explores all objects using the trial-and-error method. At this stage, absolutely all stimuli encountered on the way to food are fixed in memory.
- Behavioral programming. From the entire array of recorded information, only the most significant stimuli are selected (e.g., the room's layout). It is these that become leading signals.
- Re-entry into the same environment. Behavior changes radically. The animal rushes straight to the place where it previously found food, utilizing the mechanism of the conditioned reflex. Intermediate non-edible objects no longer arouse exploratory interest.
Thus, special significance is acquired only by those stimuli that are reliably associated with receiving reinforcement.
Behavior in a changing environment
If external environmental conditions change frequently and haphazardly, and reinforcement becomes unstable, initial spatial stimuli lose their signaling value. In such cases, the organism is forced to switch its orientation to new, more reliable signals.
A dynamic behavioral program always includes two components:
- Formation of conditioned reflexes (isolation of stimuli associated with vital activity).
- Inhibition of conditioned stimuli (if they cease to lead to the satisfaction of a need).
According to I.P. Pavlov's teachings, it is the presence of reinforcement that determines whether a signal will retain its significance in individual life.
General patterns and systemogenesis
The formation of acquired behavior obeys three main patterns:
- Pronounced orienting-exploratory activity to retrieve old skills in a new environment.
- Selective connection with information-significant stimuli, the traces of which are integrated into the action acceptor apparatus.
- Dynamic nature of programming: programs are easily modified depending on the relevance of stimuli.
The process of improving the so-called systemquants of behavior during learning is called systemogenesis. It affects the nodal stages of system architectonics: the formation of the action acceptor and efferent synthesis.
Interestingly, somatovegetative support does not remain static during this process—it changes predictably during the stages of skill development, automatization, and extinction. If living conditions become stable and periodically recurring, a dynamic stereotype begins to form in the organism.
Briefly: answers to topical questions
What types of memory are distinguished in physiology according to the duration of information retention?
Based on temporal characteristics, three main types of memory are distinguished:
- Short-term memory — retains information from several seconds to several minutes after receipt. It ensures the brief storage of content in consciousness after the disappearance of initial sensory impressions.
- Intermediate memory — retains information for several minutes or hours.
- Long-term memory — unlimited in volume and duration of information retention. It ensures the retrieval into consciousness of events and sensations that occurred in the past.
Which brain structures are responsible for memory consolidation?
The process of memory trace consolidation is associated with the functioning of the deep regions of the temporal lobes and the limbic system.
The hippocampus plays a paramount role in ensuring consolidation (the transition from short-term to long-term memory) and the consolidation processes of conscious memory. The integrity of the structures forming the Papez circuit (hippocampus, mammillary bodies, anterior thalamic nuclei, cingulate gyrus) is also essential for the normal process of encoding and transferring information into long-term memory. Bilateral damage to these areas disrupts memory fixation.
What are the cellular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity during memorization?
The cellular mechanisms of synaptic plasticity are triggered upon the convergence of stimuli on the neuron membrane.
This activates a cascade of biochemical reactions (second messengers), and the signal is transmitted to the cell nucleus. Genome activation and early gene expression occur in the nucleus: the synthesis of specific de novo proteins is triggered via transcription and translation.
The synthesized proteins are integrated into synaptic membranes or alter the neuron's structure. As a result, long-term potentiation processes occur in the synapses that participated in the successful action, ensuring long-term fixation of the connection and the formation of the engram.
Class and exam questions
What happens to a conditioned stimulus if it ceases to be reinforced?
In accordance with memory mechanisms, the signal gradually loses its significance, undergoes inhibition, and the animal begins searching for new, more reliable cues to satisfy the dominant need.
What is the main difference between acquired behavior and instinctive behavior?
Acquired behavior is flexible and allows skipping non-essential stages of past experience, reacting immediately to leading conditioned signals that lead to the goal. Instincts, however, require the rigid reproduction of the entire chain of actions.
What is the role of orienting-exploratory activity?
It allows the retrieval of necessary genetic programs and previously acquired skills to successfully satisfy leading motives in a completely new, unfamiliar environment.
What is systemogenesis of behavioral acts?
This is the process of improving behavioral systemquants during learning, in which the programming apparatus (action acceptor) is enriched and the executive apparatus is refined.
What else to study on this topic
- Architectonics of a behavioral act and the place of efferent synthesis in it
- Mechanisms of formation and extinction of conditioned reflexes according to I.P. Pavlov
- Concept and functions of the action acceptor
- Features of somatovegetative support at different stages of learning
- Evolutionary features of the human executive apparatus (tool use)
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