Classical and instrumental conditioning: the general laws of connections between "centers"

Abstract

This is a synopsis of the author's concept of the physiological mechanisms of classical and instrumental conditioning. In the classical conditioned reflex the connection is established between the central representations of the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli while in the instrumental reflex it is established between the representation of the former stimulus and the kinesthetic representation of the instrumental response. Drives play an important role in both types of conditioning by providing aroma1 in the corresponding neural centers.