Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov—the outstanding russian neurophysiologist and psychophysiologist

Contribution of the outstanding russian physiologist Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov to establishment and development of neurophysiology and psychophysiology is considered. Analysis is presented of I.M. Sechenovs fundamental discoveries that laid foundation of the modern neurophysiology. Logic of formation of his objective physiological approach to analysis of psychic phenomena is followed. It is shown that I.M. Sechenov was the first psychophysiologist to approach analysis of human from systemic positions by considering reflex as a morpho-functional system that operates with signals from environment for the purpose of achievement of an expedient result.Translated from Zhurnal Evolyutsionnoi Biokhimii i Fiziologii, Vol. 40, No. 5, 2004, pp. 481–485.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2004 by Kanunikov.To the 175-Anniversary of I.M. Sechenov     

Pavlov and the concept of association

I. P. Pavlov was profoundly influenced during his youth by the writings of D. I. Pisarev and I. M. Sechenov. Sechenov explained the voluntary act in terms of the formation of associations among sensory impressions and motor responses. Apparently under Pisarev's influence, Pavlov studied the physiology of the circulatory and digestive systems. In explaining the formation of the conditional reflex (CR), Pavlov rejected the Wundtian, anthropomorphic conceptualization of CR as suggested by A. T. Snarski?. However, using the objective CR method, the Pavlovians experimentally investigated the formation in the cortex of neural connections, which were equated with associations.     

The pre-Pavlov period in the development of neurophysiology in the Academy of Sciences

Over the course of the XVIIIth-XIXth centuries, in the Russian Academy of Sciences investigations were actively pursued into the physiology of the nervous system. These studies were published and widely discussed. A valuable contribution was made by D. Bernulli, P. A. Zagorski?, G. F. Bidder, F. V. Ovsiannikov, I. M. Sechenov, I. R. Tarkhanov, N. E. Vvedenski?, I. G. Orshanski? and others.     

Editor's Introduction

In studying higher nervous activity in man, analysis of the function of generalization is of particular significance. It was noted by I. M. Sechenov that inasmuch as the nervous system is usually influenced by complexes of stimuli, every external object is fixed in and reproduced by the nervous system not as a separate phenomenon, but as an element of a spatial group or term in a series (6), i. e., as part of a dynamic system.     

Biophysical Reviews’ “Meet the Councilor”—a profile of Anastasia A. Anashkina

As one of the twelve Councilors of the International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics elected in summer 2021, I have been asked to provide this short biographical sketch for the journal readers. I am a new member of the IUPAB Council. I hold a specialist degree in Applied Physics and Mathematics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and PhD in Biophysics from Moscow State University. I have spent my entire professional career at Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, where I am currently a senior researcher. I am Associate Professor at the Digital Health Institute of the I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University since 2018, and have trained undergraduate students in structural biology, biophysics, and bioinformatics. In addition, I serve as the Guest Editor of special journal issues of International Journal of Molecular Sciences and Frontiers in Genetics BMC genomics. Now I joined Biophysical Reviews Editorial Board as IUPAB Councilor. I am a Secretary of National Committee of Russian Biophysicists, and have helped to organize scientific conferences and workshops, such as the VI Congress of Russian Biophysicists.

     

Focused ultrasound in studies of somatic reception

Focused ultrasound has been used to elicit cutaneous tactile, thermal, specific and nonspecific pain sensations, and also subcutaneous (deep) sensations which included tactile and some pain sensations (muscular and periosteal etc.). It has been found that somatic reception can be attributed to mechanoreception, that the same receptive structures are involved in the sensations of warmth and cold, and that ultrasound has a sensitizing action. Studies have been made of sensation differences from corporal and auricular acupuncture points, and from some chosen skin and subcutaneous points.I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg. I. P. Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 24, No. 5, pp. 529–534, September–October, 1992.     

Modelling action of ionic channel blockers on postsynaptic currents

A mathematical model of the effects of open (ionic) channel blockers on generation of postsynaptic current at the neuromuscular junction is described. Quantitative aspects of simple blocking action are analyzed as well as criteria by which blockade of ionic channels may be discriminated from modification of their activation kinetics. Results of simulation are compared with experimental data. Some effects of channel-blocking substances following cholinesterase inhibition are examined.I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry. Leningrad. S. V. Kurashov State Medical Institute, Kazan'. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 476–484, July–August, 1989.     

Complex radiological diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolism

Three hundred and twelve patients (210 males and 102 females) aged 47 to 69 years who had suspected pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) were examined. All the patients received hospital treatment in the clinics of I.M. Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy for different diseases, such as coronary heart disease, chronic venous insufficiency, hypertensive disease, and postoperative condition. PTE was ascertained in 209 patients. The examination used a "Hi Speed CT/i" spiral computer tomograph (General Electric) and an "Aquilion" computer tomograph (Toshiba), a "Millennium" gamma-chamber, and a "Sequoia" high-resolution ultrasound apparatus (Acuson). An algorithm of examination of patients with suspected PTE has been developed.     

Rubrospinal synaptic influences on the lumbar motoneurons of the rat

Intracellular recording was employed in experiments on rats with the nervous system intact and after acute pyramidotomy to study the postsynaptic effects produced in the lumbar motoneurons on stimulation of the nucleus ruber. Stimulation of this nucleus with single stimuli and with a short series of stimuli caused excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP and IPSP) to develop in the motoneurons. Most of the EPSP recorded were disynaptic, but response development involved a monosynaptic segmental delay in five of the 124 cells that exhibited EPSP. A capacity for high-frequency potentiation was a characteristic feature of the disynaptic excitatory and inhibitory effects. Transmembrane polarization of the motoneurons had a marked influence on the amplitude of the disynaptic EPSP and IPSP. The properties of the disynaptic rubrospinal influences were similar to those described for the cat.I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 266–273, May–June, 1971.     

WLADIMIR KOWALEVSKY'S SOURCES OF IDEAS AND THEIR IMPORTANCE FOR HIS WORK AND FOR RUSSIAN EVOLUTIONARY PALAEONTOLOGY

Studies of documents and data about W.O. Kowalevsky's life and work have shed new light on his scientific background. After graduating from the School of Jurisprudence in St. Petersburg, he was first engaged in book publishing, but in 1868 began studies at the Anatomical Institute of the Medical-Surgical Academy, founded by N.I. Pirogov, a famous surgeon and anatomist. Pirogov's ideas were adopted by P.F. Lesshaft (1837–1907), later a prominent anatomist and founder of functional anatomy in Russia. Another teacher was the famous physiologist I.M. Sechenov. Only with the background of this new functional anatomy was Kowalevsky able to link up various data to form his own theories and create classical palaeontological works in the space of two and a half years (1871–1873). His influence on the development of vertebrate palaeontology has been lasting. In Russia and the Soviet Union, Kowalevsky and Lesshaft had such successors as A.P. Pavlov (1854–1929), A.A. Borissiak (1872–1944), N.N. Yakovlev (1870–1966), and many other disciples in younger generations of palaeontologists.     

Motivation and reinforcement. Interdisciplinary dictionary

Pavlov (1954) considered the significance of various manifestations of the higher nervous system as a necessary preliminary condition of brain mechanisms. He wrote, "First of all it is important to comprehend psychologically and then translate into physiological language." Unfortunately, there are no conventional definitions of such notions as need, motivation, emotion, reinforcement, consciousness, will, etc. I. M. Sechenov (1952) wrote, more than a century ago, "...try to speak about one and the same subject with psychologists of different schools--each school has a new opinion; and if you start, by comparison, a conversation about sound, light, electricity with a physicist of any country--you'll receive, essentially, the same responses from all of them." There is a need to create such theoretic conceptions which would be initially of an interdisciplinary character and would be useful not only in one, but in a number of special fields of science, such as psychology, physiology, and sociology. In this article the author suggests a brief dictionary of terms, based on the need-informational approach to the study of the psyche and behavior. These were created over the last 25 years (Simonov 1986).     

Synaptic effects evoked in motoneurons by direct stimulation of single presynaptic fibers in the lamprey

Synaptic effects arising in the postsynaptic membrane during direct stimulation of single presynaptic fibers were investigated in experiments with parallel intracellular recording from giant reticulospinal axons and motoneurons of the river lamprey. Monosynaptic reticulospinal EPSPs were shown to consist of two components, electrical and chemical, differing in their time courses, amplitudes, sensitivities to calcium deficiency, and dynamic characteristics. One motoneuron may receive direct electrical inputs from several giant axons. Individual giant axons can act on motoneurons not only monosynaptically, but also through additional relays.I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 390–396, July–August, 1977.     

Evolution of neuronal systems of suprasegmental motor control

The study of supraspinal systems of motor control in a series of vertebrates by electroanatomical methods shows that certain key features of reticulo-motoneuronal projection persist throughout the scale of evolution from Cyclostomata to primates. There is a particularly marked similarity between the monosynaptic reticulo-motoneuronal EPSPs in primitive animals and in the advanced quadrupeds: amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. Certain general principles governing the maturation of derivatives of the reticulo-spinal system, namely the vestibulo-spinal and rubro-spinal projections, can be discussed. The most marked changes occurred in the development of the mammalian cortico-spinal system. The properties of the conducting system and synaptic connections with the spinal motoneurons differ considerably in the series rodents—carnivores—primates. In this survey the similarities and differences between the pyramidal and nonpyramidal monosynaptic projections to motoneurons in primates and the role of brain-stem structures in the mechanism of cortico-extrapyramidal control are discussed.I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 4, No. 5, pp. 453–470, September–October, 1972.     

Quantal analysis of postsynaptic potentials at interneuronal synapses: Recovery of a signal from noise

Discrete distributions of amplitude of basic EPSP in vertebrate interneuronal synapses were obtained using the maximum likelihood method. Unequal intervals found between the values of calculated densities indicate the quantal nature of the signal. It was shown that quantal levels of nerve impulse transmission due to the structural arrangement of interneuronal connections may be distinguished using a binomial model, approximating as it does to empirical distributions. Systematic discrepancies between empirical and modeled distributions indicate the need to extend the model, however.A. A. Zhdanov State University, Leningrad; I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry; Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 479–487, July–August, 1988.     

Monosynaptic control of spinal motoneurons from different levels of the brain

In experiments on cats and monkeys it is established that reticulo-, rubro-, and corticomotoneuronal influences are characterized by a number of common features: 1) they are produced by fast conducting fibers of the descending tracts; 2) they do not attain the critical level needed for AP generation; and 3) they are caused by implication of synapses that are predominantly located on dendrites of the motoneurons. Results of experiments carried out on lampreys and rats indicate that reticulo-motoneuronal monosynaptic projections emerge already at the earliest stages of vertebrate evolution and retain their significance in mammals. The data of research on supraspinal influences during ontogenesis indicate early development of descending stem projections. This enables us to regard cerebro-motoneuronal monosynaptic connections as an important component of supraspinal control of motoneurons, a component whose functional role is in large measure determined by interaction with other synaptic inputs of the motoneuron.I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 2, pp. 203–215, March–April, 1970.     

Sources of direct afferents of the rostral field CA3 in the rat dorsal hippocampus

Afferents to the rostral field CA₃ of the dorsal hippocampus were investigated using horseradish peroxidase retrograde transport techniques. By iontophoretic injection of horseradish peroxidase into this area of the hippocampus cells stained with this enzyme could be identified in the anterior nuclei of the thalamus, the supramillary and submamillothalamic nuclei of the hypothalamus, and the midbrain central gray matter, as well as the parietal, insular, temporal, retrosplenial, and pyriform areas of the neocortex. The findings obtained complete the picture of connections between one of the least explored sections of the rat hippocampus and other brain structures.I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 18, No. 4, pp. 469–475, July–August, 1986.     

Connections linking the mamillary complex and hypothalamo-tegmental area of the brain with the brainstem in lizards

Connections between the hypothalamus and brainstem formations were investigated inOphisaurus apodus by locally injecting horseradish peroxidase (HP) or lectin-HP into the mamillary complex and the hypothalamo-tegmental area of the brain. Direct reciprocal connections were found linking mamillary complex nuclei and posterior and lateral hypothalamic structures with the following brainstem formations: central gray matter, parabrachial nucleus, raphe nuclei and the lateral loop, reticular formation of the caudal mesencephalon, pons, and medulla. It was concluded that direct bilateral hypothalamo-brainstem connections were already in place in reptiles, serving as the basis for sympatho-emotional nociceptive, and antinociceptive response.I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 114–123, January–February, 1990.     

Morphological bases of interaction between motoneurons in spinal cord isolated from young rats using HRP techniques

The structure of connections between lumbar motoneurons was investigated in preparations of spinal cord isolated from young rats. This involved applying horseradish peroxidase to the ventral root and intracellular injection of the same enzyme into motoneurons. The possibility of dendro-dendritic, dendro-somatic, and somato-somatic contacts between motoneurons was shown up in light mocroscopy studies. Recurrent collaterals of motor axons were revealed and they are though to form contacts with dendrites and perikarya of the motoneurons. The findings obtained from morphological experiments are discussed in the light of data from electrophysiological analysis of motoneuronal postsynaptic potentials produced by ventral root stimulation.I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 340–350, May–June, 1988.     

Responses of muscle spindles of fast and slow muscles to mechanical stimulation during hypokinesia

Activity of muscle spindles of fast (extensor digitorum longus) and slow (soleus) muscles was studied in cats during hypokinesia of the limb immobilized in a plaster cast. Spontaneous activity of muscle spindles of the fast and slow muscles was unchanged during hypokinesia. Spontaneous activity of primary and secondary endings evoked by passive stretching of the muscle exceeded normal. During stretching of the muscles at different speeds and of different amplitudes, the discharge frequency of the primary and secondary endings was much greater than normally during both the dynamic and the static phase of stretching. These changes were more marked in the slow muscles.I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 186–192, March–April, 1978.     

Motoneuronal interaction in spinal cord isolated from infant rats

Intracellular investigations into interaction between lumbar motoneurons were made during ventral root stimulation in spinal cord isolated from 9 to 14-day-old rats and horseradish peroxidase injection. It was found that electronic interaction is brought about by contacts between a moderate number of adjacent motoneurons and does not lead to generation of action potentials. A potential chemical (excitatory) as well as electronic interaction between motoneurons was discovered, probably occurring via recurrent motor axon collaterals. It was shown that the way in which one motoneuron is influenced by others may be a factor of its functional pattern.I. M. Sechenov Institute of Evolutionary Physiology and Biochemistry, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Leningrad. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 243–250, March–April, 1988.