Jerzy Konorski
Encyclopedia
Jerzy Konorski was a Polish
neurophysiologist who further developed the work of Ivan Pavlov
by discovering secondary conditioned reflexes and also operant conditioning
. He also proposed the concepts of grandmother cell
and similar ideas to Donald Hebb upon neural plasticity.
Type II conditioned reflexes are now known as operant or instrumental conditioning.
He spent two years at Pavlov's laboratory as the result of a letter that he sent to Pavlov describing this work. Pavlov however was never convinced that instrumental conditioning (which Konorski called "Type II" to distinguish it from Pavlov's "Type I" learning) differed in any important way from his own Type I conditioning.
An exchange between B. F. Skinner
and Konorski also occurred over the two types of learning. Skinner had originally referred to operant conditioning as Type I and Pavlovian conditioning as Type II. Konorski agreed to revise his nomenclature to avoid confusion.
by Donald Hebb.
of the West which Konorski called "gnostic unit." This was developed t in great detail in his 1967 book.
in Warsaw, Poland was created for him but this was destroyed in the first days of the invasion of Poland in 1939
. He failed to get to England to join his brother who lived there. Konorski managed to escape to the Soviet Union where he was appointed the head of the primate laboratory at Sukhumi
on the Black Sea in Georgia
. Due to German invasion of Soviet Union, the laboratory was relocated to Tbilisi
. He spent much of World War II at Sukhumi
treating traumatic injuries of the central nervous system. After the war he returned to Nencki Institute as head of the Department of Neurophysiology. In 1948 Cambridge University Press
published his "Conditioned reflexes and neuron organization". Then in 1949, during the peak of Stalinism
, at a conference in Leningrad commemorating the 100th anniversary of Pavlov's birth, his book was condemned and rejected. In 1951, at a conference organized in Krynica
in support of him, this was shown in a 40 minutes period of continuous clapping and applause. With Stalin's death his prosecution ended.
Later Konorski became a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences
. Since his death his influence has grown considerably and now recognized as the first to systematically investigate the mechanisms underlying instrumental conditioning. Many consider him among the most important of theoretical neurobiologists.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
neurophysiologist who further developed the work of Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Pavlov
Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was a famous Russian physiologist. Although he made significant contributions to psychology, he was not in fact a psychologist himself but was a mathematician and actually had strong distaste for the field....
by discovering secondary conditioned reflexes and also operant conditioning
Operant conditioning
Operant conditioning is a form of psychological learning during which an individual modifies the occurrence and form of its own behavior due to the association of the behavior with a stimulus...
. He also proposed the concepts of grandmother cell
Grandmother cell
The grandmother cell is a hypothetical neuron that represents a complex but specific concept or object. It activates when a person's brain "sees, hears, or otherwise sensibly discriminates" a specific entity, such as his or her grandmother. The term was coined around 1969 by Jerry Lettvin...
and similar ideas to Donald Hebb upon neural plasticity.
Secondary conditioned reflexes
When he and Stefan Miller were medical students in Warsaw they proposed another type of conditioned reflex in addition to that discovered by Pavlov which was under the control of reward. This has come to be known as "type II conditioned reflexes," or secondary conditioned reflexesOperant conditioning
Operant conditioning is a form of psychological learning during which an individual modifies the occurrence and form of its own behavior due to the association of the behavior with a stimulus...
Type II conditioned reflexes are now known as operant or instrumental conditioning.
He spent two years at Pavlov's laboratory as the result of a letter that he sent to Pavlov describing this work. Pavlov however was never convinced that instrumental conditioning (which Konorski called "Type II" to distinguish it from Pavlov's "Type I" learning) differed in any important way from his own Type I conditioning.
An exchange between B. F. Skinner
B. F. Skinner
Burrhus Frederic Skinner was an American behaviorist, author, inventor, baseball enthusiast, social philosopher and poet...
and Konorski also occurred over the two types of learning. Skinner had originally referred to operant conditioning as Type I and Pavlovian conditioning as Type II. Konorski agreed to revise his nomenclature to avoid confusion.
Neural plasticity
Konorski asked how pre-existing connections between neurons in the brain could be changed by conditioning. He suggested an idea similar to Hebb in which coincidental activation in time causes the potential connections to be transformed into actual excitatory connections. Inhibitory connections arise when the excitation of one input coincides in time with a decease in its associated connection. He described the process: "The plastic changes would be related to the formation ad multiplication of new synaptic junctions between the axon terminals of one nerve cell and the soma (i.e. the body and the dendrites) of the other" This idea that synapses strengthen with use was also proposed in the West in the theory of Hebbian synapsesHebbian theory
Hebbian theory describes a basic mechanism for synaptic plasticity wherein an increase in synaptic efficacy arises from the presynaptic cell's repeated and persistent stimulation of the postsynaptic cell...
by Donald Hebb.
Grandmother cells
Konorski first proposed two key concepts in neuroscience (independently of Western scientists who also suggested them). The grandmother cellGrandmother cell
The grandmother cell is a hypothetical neuron that represents a complex but specific concept or object. It activates when a person's brain "sees, hears, or otherwise sensibly discriminates" a specific entity, such as his or her grandmother. The term was coined around 1969 by Jerry Lettvin...
of the West which Konorski called "gnostic unit." This was developed t in great detail in his 1967 book.
Publications
He was the author of two important books on learning, Conditioned Reflexes and Neuron Organization (1948), and Integrative Activity of the Brain (1967). The first book, presented one of the first theories of associative learning as a result of long-term neuronal plasticity. In the second, he substantially revised his early theories and synthesised work on associative learning and neurobiology of perception and motivation.World War II and Stalin
The Department of Neurophysiology at the Nencki Institute of Experimental BiologyNencki Institute of Experimental Biology
The Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology is a scientific research organization headquartered in Warsaw.- Early history :It was founded in 1918/19, shortly after the reestablishment of Poland as an independent country...
in Warsaw, Poland was created for him but this was destroyed in the first days of the invasion of Poland in 1939
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
. He failed to get to England to join his brother who lived there. Konorski managed to escape to the Soviet Union where he was appointed the head of the primate laboratory at Sukhumi
Sukhumi
Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:...
on the Black Sea in Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
. Due to German invasion of Soviet Union, the laboratory was relocated to Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
. He spent much of World War II at Sukhumi
Sukhumi
Sukhumi is the capital of Abkhazia, a disputed region on the Black Sea coast. The city suffered heavily during the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict in the early 1990s.-Naming:...
treating traumatic injuries of the central nervous system. After the war he returned to Nencki Institute as head of the Department of Neurophysiology. In 1948 Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII in 1534, it is the world's oldest publishing house, and the second largest university press in the world...
published his "Conditioned reflexes and neuron organization". Then in 1949, during the peak of Stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
, at a conference in Leningrad commemorating the 100th anniversary of Pavlov's birth, his book was condemned and rejected. In 1951, at a conference organized in Krynica
Krynica
Krynica-Zdrój is a town in Nowy Sącz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland in the Beskids mountains, inhabited by over eleven thousand people. It is the biggest spa town in Poland called The Pearl of Polish Spas; a tourist and winter sport centre. It was first recorded in 1547 and became a...
in support of him, this was shown in a 40 minutes period of continuous clapping and applause. With Stalin's death his prosecution ended.
Later Konorski became a foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
. Since his death his influence has grown considerably and now recognized as the first to systematically investigate the mechanisms underlying instrumental conditioning. Many consider him among the most important of theoretical neurobiologists.
External online sources
- Bibliography of Jerzy Konorski Selected publications of Jerzy Konorski and history of the Department of Neurophysiology at Nencki Institute. (170MB in pdf files).