Reflex is an example. Examples of congenital and acquired, conditioned and unconditioned reflexes in humans and animals

Our nervous system is a complex mechanism of interaction of neurons that send impulses to the brain, and it, in turn, controls all organs and ensures their work. This process of interaction is possible due to the presence in humans of the main inseparable acquired and innate forms of adaptation - conditional and unconditional reactions. Reflex is a conscious response of the body to certain conditions or irritants. Such harmonious work of nerve endings helps us to interact with the world around us. A person is born with a set of elementary skills - this is called an innate reflex. An example of this behavior: the ability of the baby to suck mother's breast, swallow food, blink.

Behavior of man and animal

Once a living being is born, he needs certain skills that will help to ensure his life. The organism actively adapts to the surrounding world, that is, it develops a whole complex of purposeful motor skills. It is such a mechanism called behavior of species. Each living organism has its own set of reactions and congenital reflexes, which is inherited and does not change throughout life. But the behavior itself is distinguished by the method of its realization and application in life: congenital and acquired forms.

Unconditioned reflexes

Scientists say that an innate form of behavior is an unconditioned reflex. An example of such manifestations has been observed since the birth of a person: sneezing, coughing, swallowing saliva, blinking. Transmission of such information is carried out by inheritance of the parental program by the centers of reflex arcs, which are responsible for reactions to stimuli. These centers are located in the brain stem or in the spinal cord. Unconditioned reflexes help a person quickly and accurately react to changes in the external environment and homeostasis. Such reactions have a clear disengagement depending on biological needs.

• Food.
• Approximate.
• Protective.
• Sexual.

Depending on the species, living beings have different reactions to the surrounding world, but all mammals, including humans, have a sucking skill. If you attach a baby or a young animal to the mother's nipple, the brain will immediately react and the feeding process will begin. This is the unconditioned reflex. Examples of eating behavior are inherited by all creatures that receive nutrients from their mother's milk.

Protective reactions

Such types of reaction to external stimuli are inherited and are called natural instincts. Evolution has laid the need in us to protect ourselves and take care of our own security for the purpose of survival. Therefore, we have learned to react instinctively to danger, this is an unconditioned reflex. Example: Have you noticed how the head deviates, if someone has brought a fist over it? When you touch a hot surface, your hand is pulled back. This behavior is also called the instinct of self-preservation: it is unlikely that a person in his sanity will try to jump from a height or eat strange berries in the forest. The brain immediately starts the process of processing information, which will make it clear whether it is worth risking your life. And if you even think that you do not think about it, instinct immediately works.

Try to lift a finger to the baby's hand, and he will immediately try to grab it. Such reflexes were developed for centuries, however, now this skill is not very necessary for the child. Even in primitive people, the kid clung to his mother, and so she tolerated it. There are also unconscious congenital reactions, which are explained by the connection of several groups of neurons. For example, if you hit the knee with a hammer, it will twitch - an example of a two-neural reflex. In this case, two neurons come into contact and send a signal to the brain, causing them to react to an external stimulus.

Delayed reactions

However, not all unconditioned reflexes appear immediately after birth. Some arise as necessary. For example, a newborn baby almost does not know how to navigate in space, but after about a couple of weeks he begins to react to external stimuli - this is an unconditioned reflex. Example: the child begins to distinguish the mother's voice, loud sounds, bright colors. All these factors attract his attention - the orienting skill begins to form. Involuntary attention is the starting point in the formation of the evaluation of stimuli: the baby begins to understand that when the mother speaks to him and comes up to him, most likely she will take him in her arms or feed her. That is, a person forms a complex form of behavior. His crying will draw attention to him, and he will consciously use this reaction.

Sexual reflex

But this reflex refers to the unconscious and unconditioned, it is aimed at the continuation of the genus. It occurs during puberty, that is, only when the body is ready to continue the genus. Scientists say that this reflex is one of the strongest, it determines the complex behavior of a living organism and subsequently launches the instinct to protect its offspring. Despite the fact that all these reactions are inherent in man, they are launched in a certain order.

Conditional reflexes

In addition to the instinctive reactions that we possess at birth, a person needs many other skills in order to better adapt to the surrounding world. Acquired behavior is formed both in animals and in humans throughout life, called this phenomenon "conditioned reflexes." Examples: at the sight of food, salivation occurs, while observing the diet, there is a feeling of hunger at a certain time of the day. Such a phenomenon is formed by a temporary connection between the analyzer center (sense of smell or vision) and the center of the unconditioned reflex. The external stimulus becomes a signal to a certain action. Visual images, sounds, smells can form strong bonds and generate new reflexes. When someone sees a lemon, salivation can begin, and with a sharp smell or contemplation of an unpleasant picture, nausea appears-these are examples of conditioned reflexes in a person. Note that these reactions can be individual in every living organism, temporary connections are formed in the cerebral cortex and send a signal when an external stimulus arises.

Throughout life, conditioned reactions can arise and also vanish. Everything depends on the person's need. For example, as a child, a child reacts to the sight of a bottle of milk, realizing that this is food. But when the baby grows up, this object will not form the image of food, it will react to the spoon and the plate.

Heredity

As we have already explained, unconditioned reflexes are inherited by every species of living beings. But conditional reactions affect only complex human behavior, but are not transmitted to descendants. Each organism "adapts" to this or that situation and the surrounding reality. Examples of congenital reflexes that do not disappear throughout life: eating, swallowing, reaction to the taste of the product. Conditional stimuli change constantly depending on our preferences and age: in childhood, when a child sees a toy, the child experiences joyful emotions; in the course of growing up, the reaction is caused, for example, by visual images of the film.

Animal reactions

In animals, as in man, there are both unconditional innate reactions, and acquired reflexes throughout life. In addition to the instinct of self-preservation and the production of food, living beings also adapt to the environment. They develop a reaction to the nickname (domestic animals), with repeated repetition there is a reflex of attention.

Numerous experiments have shown that it is possible to instill in the pet many reactions to external stimuli. For example, if you call a dog with a bell or a certain signal at each feeding, he will have a persistent perception of the situation, and he will immediately react. In the process of training, the pet's encouragement for the command made by the favorite delicacy forms a conditioned reaction, the dog's walk and the type of leash signal an early walk, where he must cope with need-examples of reflexes in animals.

Summary

The nervous system constantly sends to our brain a lot of signals, they form the behavior of man and animal. The constant activity of neurons allows us to perform the usual actions and respond to external stimuli, helping to better adapt to the world around us.