124 



BRAIN MECHANISMS AND LEARNING 



of new affcrcntations from the external environment, to a repetition of the 

 afferent synthesis stage already at a new level and, lastly, to the formation 

 of new effector complexes. On their part, these latter lead to some new act 

 of behaviom* and thus determine streams ot new return afferent impulses 

 which usually correspond in larger measure to the established acceptor of 

 action, hi any act oi behaviour this cyclic process, beginning with the 

 afferent synthesis stage and ending in the confrontation of the return 

 afferentations and the excitations ot the acceptor of action, continues until 



/f.af,r 



Cond. 

 sum. 



Fig. 17 

 Example of lack of correspondence between the acceptor of actitm and the return affercntation 



'Discordance'. 



both excitations tuUy coincide. In human behaviour, which, in our 

 opinion, unfolds, even in its higher forms, according to the foregoing 

 physiological architecture of the conditioned reflex, this final moment may 

 be formulated as a 'coincidence of the results of action with the initial 

 intention'. It is in this that the definite significance of the conception 

 proposed by us for the physiological understanding of a number of 

 phenomena of a psychological nature lies. 



An analysis of most of the experimental situations, especially conducted 

 in the way of the integral behaviour of the animal by the 'free runs' 



