Ivan Pavlov summary

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Ivan Pavlov, (born Sept. 26, 1849, Ryazan, Russia—died Feb. 27, 1936, Leningrad), Russian physiologist. He is known chiefly for the concept of the conditioned reflex. In his classic experiment, he found that a hungry dog trained to associate the sound of a bell with food salivated at the sound even in the absence of food. He expanded on Charles Sherrington’s explanation of the spinal reflex. He also tried to apply his laws to human psychoses and language function. His ability to reduce a complex situation to a simple experiment and his pioneering studies relating human behaviour to the nervous system laid the basis for the scientific analysis of behaviour. After the Russian Revolution, he became an outspoken opponent of the communist government. He won a 1904 Nobel Prize for his work on digestive secretions.

Nobel Prize Summary

Nobel Prize, any of the prizes (five in number until 1969, when a sixth was added) that are awarded annually from a fund bequeathed for that purpose by the Swedish inventor and industrialist Alfred Nobel. The Nobel Prizes are widely regarded as the most prestigious awards given for intellectual

medicine Summary

Medicine, the practice concerned with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease. The World Health Organization at its 1978 international conference held in the Soviet Union produced the Alma-Ata Health Declaration, which was designed to serve governments as a

neuron; conduction of the action potential

nervous system Summary

Nervous system, organized group of cells specialized for the conduction of electrochemical stimuli from sensory receptors through a network to the site at which a response occurs. All living organisms are able to detect changes within themselves and in their environments. Changes in the external

physiology Summary

Physiology, study of the functioning of living organisms, animal or plant, and of the functioning of their constituent tissues or cells. The word physiology was first used by the Greeks around 600 bce to describe a philosophical inquiry into the nature of things. The use of the term with specific