The textbook highlights the modern concept and theoretical and methodological foundations of medical ecology - the most important rapidly developing section of human ecology. The medical and ecological characteristics of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere are given. The classification of the main ecological risk factors of the environment is given. The main medical and environmental problems of human interaction with the multifactorial environment of his habitat, the patterns of the body's response to external environmental influences are considered.

The textbook is intended for medical students.

Book:

... an organism without external environment supporting its existence is impossible.

I. M. Sechenov

The condition for the development of living organisms is their interaction with the environment. Open systems are considered as systems that can exchange energy, matter and information with surrounding bodies. An open system is always dynamic: changes are constantly taking place in it, and, naturally, it is itself subject to change. Due to the complexity of these systems, self-organization processes are possible in them, which serve as the beginning of the emergence of qualitatively new and more complex structures in its development.

The ontogenesis of the human body is an ongoing process of constant movement aimed at maintaining quantitative and qualitative characteristics in the human body. Moreover, for further self-renewal and maintaining the dynamic balance of the body, additional substances, energy and information are needed, which it can receive only when interacting with the external environment. Exploring the body open system, it is necessary to consider it holistically, to establish the interaction of its constituent parts or elements in the aggregate.

In medicine, historically influenced natural sciences, and most importantly - anatomical studies, despite the proclaimed (starting with the fundamental works of S. G. Zybelin, M. Ya. Mudrov, E. O. Mukhin, I. M. Sechenov, I. P. Pavlov and others) the principle of integrity organism, organ thinking has developed.

Any modern textbook on the most important fundamental disciplines, such as anatomy, physiology, histology, and others, is built on the organ principle. Organ pathology - this, the lungs, liver, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, brain, etc. were divided into organ specialties. Pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment are directly related to the function of specific organs, and the professional view of a doctor, as a rule, is mainly directed towards diseased organs (Sudakov K.V., 1999).

P. K. Anokhin formulated a new approach to understanding the functions of the whole organism. Instead of the classical physiology of organs, traditionally following anatomical principles, the theory functional systems proclaims the systemic organization of human functions from the molecular to the social level.

Functional systems(according to: Anokhin P.K.) - self-organizing and self-regulating dynamic central-peripheral organizations, united by nervous and humoral regulations, all the constituent components of which help to provide various adaptive results that are useful for the functional systems themselves and for the body as a whole, satisfying its needs.

The theory of functional systems, thus, radically changes the existing ideas about the structure of the human body and its functions. Instead of the idea of a person as a set of organs connected by nervous and humoral regulation, this theory considers the human body as a set of many interacting functional systems of various levels of organization, each of which, selectively combining various organs and tissues, as well as objects of the surrounding reality, ensures the achievement of useful adaptive results for the body, which ultimately determine the stability of metabolic processes.

From the same positions, human adaptation is defined as the ability of its functional systems to ensure the achievement of significant results.

An analysis of the mechanisms of self-regulation of vital body constants (blood pressure, tension of carbon dioxide and oxygen in arterial blood, temperature of the internal environment, osmotic pressure of blood plasma, stabilization of the center of gravity in the area of support, etc.) shows that the self-regulation apparatus is functional).

“All functional systems, regardless of the level of their organization and the number of their constituent components, have fundamentally the same functional architecture, in which the result is the dominant factor stabilizing the organization of systems” (Anokhin P.K., 1971).

Rice. one. Scheme of self-regulatory mechanisms of a functional system (according to: Anokhin P.K.):

1 - starting stimulus (irritation); 2 - situational afferentations; 3 - memory; 4 - dominant motivation; 5 - afferent synthesis; 6 - decision-making; 7 - action result acceptor; 8 - program of action; 9 - efferent excitations; 10 - action; 11 - the result of an action; 12 - result parameters; 13 - backward afferentation

The key mechanisms underlying the structure of a behavioral act of any degree of complexity include: afferent synthesis; decision-making stage; formation of an acceptor of the result of an action; the formation of the action itself (efferent synthesis); multicomponent action; achieving a result; reverse afferentation about the parameters of the achieved result and its comparison with the previously formed model of the result in the acceptor of the result of the action (Fig. 1).

Some functional systems, by their self-regulatory activity, determine the stability of various indicators of the internal environment - homeostasis, others - the adaptation of living organisms to the environment.

In the course of phylo- and ontogenesis, functional systems were constantly improved. Moreover, the old systems were not eliminated by new and improved systems and control mechanisms; evolutionarily early adaptation mechanisms were preserved and entered into certain interactions with both more ancient and newer mechanisms.

Theory of functional systems(Anokhin P.K., Sudakov K.V.) distinguishes four types of systems: morphofunctional, homeostatic, neurodynamic, psychophysiological.

Morphofunctional systems are associated with the activity of certain functions. These include the musculoskeletal system, cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, nervous systems, cells, organelles, molecules. In a word, everything that performs a function.

Homeostatic functional systems include subcortical formations, the autonomic nervous and other systems of the body. The main role of this system is to maintain the constancy of the internal environment of the body. Homeostatic systems closely interact with morphofunctional ones, which fit into them as separate elements.

Neurodynamic Systems as a leading structural element they have the cerebral cortex, namely the first signal system. Within the framework of this system, the apparatus of emotions is formed as a mechanism for optimizing the functions of the organism and behavior in the conditions of interaction between the organism and the environment. The development of the cortex dramatically expanded the adaptive capabilities of the organism, subordinating vegetative functions to itself. Neurodynamic systems include elements of homeostatic and morphofunctional systems.

Psychophysiological functional systems, as well as neurodynamic, the leading structural element is the cerebral cortex, however, those of its departments that are associated with the second signal system. The second signaling system improved the mechanisms of adaptive behavior through the formation social forms adaptation. Psychophysiological functional systems realize their activity through the autonomic nervous system and through emotions, morphological basis which are subcortical formations (limbic system, thalamus, hypothalamus and others). They include elements of the structural architectonics of neurodynamic, homeostatic and morphofunctional systems.

Compensation can be carried out by one system, in relation to which this factor is most specific. If the capabilities of a specific system are limited, other systems are connected.

Some functional systems are genetically determined, others are formed in individual life in the process of interaction of the organism with various factors of the internal and external environment, i.e., on the basis of learning. Naturally, the most complex and perfect functional systems are in people, as the most perfect living beings. It is possible to understand their interactions taking into account ideas about the structural levels of organization of biosystems.

Levels of organization of functional systems (Sudakov K. V., 1999): metabolic, homeostatic, behavioral, mental, social.

On the metabolic level of functional systems determine the achievement of the final stages of chemical reactions in the tissues of the body. When certain products appear, chemical reactions, according to the principle of self-regulation, stop or, conversely, are activated. A typical example of a functional system at the metabolic level is the process of retroinhibition.

On the homeostatic level, numerous functional systems that combine nervous and humoral mechanisms, according to the principle of self-regulation, provide the optimal level of the most important indicators of the internal environment of the body, such as blood mass, blood pressure, temperature, pH, osmotic pressure, the level of gases, nutrients, etc.

On the behavioral at the biological level, functional systems determine the achievement by a person of biologically important results - special environmental factors that satisfy his leading metabolic needs for water, nutrients, protection from a variety of damaging effects and in the removal of harmful waste products from the body; sexual activity, etc.

Functional systems mental human activities are built on the information basis of an ideal reflection by a person of his various emotional states and properties of objects of the surrounding world with the help of linguistic symbols and thought processes. The results of the functional systems of mental activity are represented by the reflection in the mind of a person of his subjective experiences, the most important concepts, abstract ideas about external objects and their relations, instructions, knowledge, etc.

On the social level, diverse functional systems determine the achievement by individuals or their groups of socially significant results in the educational and production activities, in the creation of a social product, in environmental protection, in measures to protect the Fatherland, in spiritual activity, in communication with objects of culture, art, etc. (Anokhin P.K., Sudakov K.V.).

The interaction of functional systems in the body is carried out on the basis of the principles of hierarchical dominance, multiparametric and sequential interaction, system genesis and system quantization of life processes.

Hierarchical dominance of functional systems. Always one of the parameters of the general need of the organism acts as a leading, dominant one, being the most significant for survival, procreation of the family or for the adaptation of a person in the external and, above all, social environment, forming the dominant functional system. At the same time, all other functional systems are either inhibited or contribute to the activity of the dominant system by their productive activity. In relation to each dominant functional system, subdominant systems, in accordance with their biological significance and significance for social activities of a person, starting from the molecular up to the organismic and socio-social level, are built in a certain hierarchical order. Hierarchical relationships of functional systems in the body are built on the basis of the results of their activities.

Multiparametric interaction. The principle of multiparametric interaction is especially clearly manifested in the activity of functional systems of the homeostatic level, in which a change in one indicator of the internal environment, representing the result of the activity of any functional system, immediately affects the results of the activity of other related functional systems. The principle of multiparametric interaction is clearly revealed, for example, in the activity of a functional system that determines the level of gas indicators in the body.

Consistent interaction of functional systems. In the human body, the activity of various functional systems is sequentially connected with each other in time, when the result of the activity of one functional system consistently forms another need and the corresponding functional system.

The principle of sequential interaction of various functional systems in the human body is clearly manifested in the continuum of the processes of blood circulation, digestion, respiration, excretion, etc.

A special kind of sequential interaction of functional systems in time is represented by systemogenesis processes.

PK Anokhin defined systemogenesis as the selective maturation of functional systems and their individual parts in the processes of pre- and postnatal ontogenesis.

The continuum of life activity of each person on different levels organization due to the consistent interaction of functional systems is divided into separate, discrete "system quants". Each individual “system quantum” of life activity includes the emergence of a particular biological or social need, the formation of a dominant motivation at the brain level and, through the achievement of intermediate and final results, ends with the satisfaction of the need. At the same time, the assessment of various parameters of intermediate and final results of activity is constantly carried out with the help of reverse afferentation coming from various sense organs and receptors of the body to the apparatus for predicting the desired result - the acceptor of the result of the action.

By the nature of the organization, one can single out sequential, hierarchical and mixed quantization of life processes (Sudakov K.V., 1997).

Beginning with the remarkable works of the Canadian biologist L. von Bertalanffy, a systematic approach is increasingly being introduced into biology and medicine.

Understanding functional features building a whole organism is necessary first of all for a doctor involved in the diagnosis and treatment of a sick person. Modern reality urgently requires a close association of specialists of various profiles to solve large theoretical and practical problems.

The physiological mechanisms of a person already now cannot cope with the huge loads of modern production activities and living conditions. In the presence of a huge number of feedbacks from various parameters of the activity of machines, there is practically no control over the physiological functions of people working on these machines.

The situation is aggravated by socio-political transformations in many countries of the world, including Russia, as well as environmental problems in many parts of the world.

The theory of the functional system has opened up new prospects for early diagnosis of violations of human physiological functions in the conditions of real production activities, especially in the conditions of hard work of modern production (Sudakov K.V.).

Any disease, whether somatic or mental, is a manifestation of the adaptation of the organism (personality) in changing conditions of the external and internal environment. Adaptation is carried out depending on a number of factors, ranging from the biological, social and psychological characteristics of the diseased organism, ending with the characteristics of the pathogenic factor, the environmental conditions in which this effect occurs, the duration and intensity of the effect, etc., and affects many morphofunctional levels, systems, organizations. That is, the disease manifests itself as a multi-level system (Sukiasyan S. G., 2005).

In this regard, the assessment of various indicators of the body's activity in pathological conditions should take into account the systemic integration of physiological functions.

With each disease, first of all, it is necessary to determine: which functional systems have been affected by the pathological process and whose disruption aggravates it; the activity of which functional systems has a compensatory orientation (Sudakov K.V.).

A persistent increase in blood pressure, for example, may be associated with disturbances in various parts of the functional system that determines the optimal level of blood pressure in the body: the baroreceptor apparatus, central emotional and vasomotor mechanisms, peripheral vascular or hormonal regulation, etc. At the same time, changes the activity of other related functional systems of excretion, water-salt balance, maintenance of body temperature, etc.

In the surgical removal of an organ, based on the notion that the same organs are involved in the activity of various functional systems by different aspects of their metabolism, it is first necessary to determine which functional systems and to what extent the surgical operation affected, which compensatory mechanisms at the same time, they continue to provide the leading physiological functions of the body, what useful adaptive results of the body's activity are preserved and which are violated, and also what aspects of homeostasis or behavior do they affect?

From a systemic point of view, compensation for disturbed functions always goes in the direction of preserving the ability of functional systems to provide adaptive results useful for the body.

As studies by E. L. Golubeva, an employee of P. K. Anokhin, showed, when one lung is removed, the compensatory process is associated not only with the activity of the second remaining lung, but also with the functions of the heart, kidneys, blood and other executive components of the branched internal link of self-regulation of the functional system breathing. At the same time, the activity of other functional systems is also disturbed, which determine the optimal level of blood and osmotic pressure for the body, blood reactions, excretion, etc., which, according to the principle of multiply connected interaction, compensatory reorganize their activities.

Surgery, such as replacement of the ascending aortic arch with a prosthesis, can impair the function of baroreceptors and chemoreceptors for gas homeostasis. In this case, the compensatory function largely falls on other chemoreceptor zones: carotid sinus and central, the state of which in this case must be assessed even before surgery (Sudakov K.V.).

The theory of functional systems allows a new approach to the problem of rehabilitation of impaired human functions.

From the standpoint of the theory of functional systems, all rehabilitation measures act as an additional external link in self-regulation, thereby compensating for the insufficient function of certain functional systems of the body.

In this regard, the first informational stage of the formation of the pathological process deserves special attention ( premorbid state).

At this stage, disturbed informational intra- and intersystem relations of functional systems in the body are easily restored by informational methods of rehabilitation: hypnotic influence, massage, homeopathy, acupuncture, heat-cold procedures, hypoxia and others, which prevent the transition of dysfunctions into a stable pathological form. Based on the fact that the disease primarily manifests itself as a violation of information system relations in the body, the role of cultural, family and industrial relations as a kind of "human immunity". The same factors are also important for maintaining and strengthening the effects of rehabilitation (Sudakov K.V., 1996).

Each organism has its own zone of physiological comfort, in which the maximum possible limit of function compensation is maintained. With persistent changes in the environment, the body moves to a new level of homeostasis, or "homeoresis" (according to: Ado V.D.), for which other indicators of homeostasis are optimal. This is the state of adaptation. Thus, the theory of functional systems by P. K. Anokhin, considering the body as an integral biosocial object in phylo- and ontogenetic terms, confirms the theory of the adaptation syndrome (Sudakov K. V., Sukiasyan S. G.).

Adaptation(adaptation) is the process of maintaining the functional state of homeostatic systems and the body as a whole, ensuring its preservation, development, maximum life expectancy in inadequate conditions (Treasurers V.P., 1973).

Adaptation is undoubtedly one of the fundamental qualities of living matter. It is present in all known forms of life. The following types of adaptation are distinguished: biological, physiological, biochemical, psychological, social, etc.

When classifying adaptation processes, one should take into account:

1. Environmental factors (physical, chemical, bacterial, viral).

2. Properties of the organism (embryonic, childish, adult, gender, nationality.)

3. The nature of adaptive rearrangements in different systems organs (primarily nervous, hormonal, immune systems, as well as cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, etc.).

4. The level of organization of the biosystem (species, population, organism, system, organ, etc.).

In terms of significance for evolution, adaptive changes can be: genotypic, phenotypic.

At the core genotypic adaptations are persistent changes in hereditary material (mutations), which can be passed on from generation to generation and fixed by the action of natural selection, genetic drift.

The consequence of this type of adaptation is the acquisition of new adaptive genotypic traits.

Under phenotypic adaptation is understood as the variation of the value of a trait as a result of the action of external environmental factors. This variation is based on the "reaction rate", which is controlled genetically and determines the range of variation of the trait in specific environmental conditions.

From the physiological and pathophysiological points of view, the concepts of adaptation, norm and pathology should be given only in order to substantiate the view that the normological and pathological processes are different qualitative manifestations of the same process - adaptation or adaptation. At the same time, pathology is not always an adaptive anomaly, as well as an adaptive norm.

Based on this, almost all diseases are the result of errors in adaptive reactions to external stimuli. From this point of view, most of the diseases (nervous disorders, hypertension, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum, some types of rheumatic, allergic, cardiovascular diseases and kidney diseases) are diseases of adaptation, that is, pathological processes and diseases are just features of adaptive reactions.

According to the theory of adaptive reactions, depending on the strength of the impact, three types of adaptive reactions can develop in the body:

– on weak influences – training reaction;

– on influences of average force – activation reaction;

- to strong, extreme impacts - stress response (according to: Selye G.).

The training reaction has three stages: orientation, restructuring, training. Protective inhibition predominates in the CNS. In the endocrine system, at first, the activity of gluco- and mineralocorticoid hormones moderately increases, and then the secretion of mineralocorticoids gradually increases and the secretion of glucocorticoids normalizes against the background of a moderately increased functional activity of the thyroid and gonads.

The activation reaction has two stages: primary activation and the stage of persistent activation. Moderate, physiological excitation predominates in the central nervous system. In the endocrine system, there is an increase in the secretion of mineralocorticoids with normal secretion of glucocorticoids and an increase in the functional activity of the thyroid and gonads. The increase in the activity of the endocrine glands is more pronounced than in the training reaction, but does not have the character of pathological hyperfunction. In both stages of the activation reaction, active resistance to damaging agents of various nature increases.

The training response and the activation response are those adaptive responses that occur during the normal life of the organism. These reactions are the nonspecific basis of physiological processes, just as stress is the nonspecific basis of pathological processes.

At the heart of any adaptive reaction of the body are certain biochemical transformations. Not a single type of adaptation is complete without significant biochemical rearrangements.

Biochemical adaptation performs the following main functions in the cell:

1. Maintaining the structural integrity of macromolecules (enzymes of contractile proteins, nucleic acids, etc.) during their functioning under specific conditions.

2. Sufficient cell supply:

a) energy currency - ATF;

b) reducing equivalents necessary for the course of biosynthesis processes;

c) precursors used in the synthesis of storage substances (glycogen, fats, etc.), nucleic acids and proteins.

3. Maintaining systems that regulate the speed and direction of metabolic processes in accordance with the needs of the body and their changes when environmental conditions change.

There are three types of biochemical adaptation mechanisms:

1. Adaptation of macromolecular components of a cell or body fluids:

a) the quantities (concentrations) of already existing types of macromolecules, such as enzymes, change;

b) macromolecules of new types are formed, for example, new isoenzymes, which replace macromolecules that were previously present in the cell, but have become not quite suitable for work under changed conditions.

2. Adaptation of the microenvironment in which macromolecules function. The essence of this mechanism is that an adaptive change in the structural and functional properties of macromolecules is achieved by changing the qualitative and quantitative composition of the environment surrounding these macromolecules (for example, its osmotic concentration or the composition of dissolved substances).

3. Adaptation at the functional level, when a change in the efficiency of macromolecular systems, especially enzymes, is not associated with a change in the number of macromolecules present in the cell or their types. This type of biochemical adaptation is also called metabolic regulation. Its essence lies in the regulation of the functional activity of macromolecules previously synthesized by the cell.

When studying the effect of the complex for a long time operating factors habitat on the human body, an important task is to assess the adaptation strategy. Based on knowledge of the adaptation strategy, it is possible to predict the nature of the behavior of an organism in time when it comes into contact with changing environmental factors.

Under the adaptation strategy understand the functional-temporal structure of the flows of information, energy, substances, providing the optimal level of morphological and functional organization of biosystems in inadequate environmental conditions.

The criterion underlying the selection of various adaptation strategies (types of response) is the time to perform submaximal work. This relative value is always inversely proportional to the body's resistance to the destructive influence of the environment, provided that the body performs work of submaximal intensity.

There are three variants of the "strategy" of the adaptive behavior of the human body.

1. Type of strategy ( sprint strategy): the body has the ability of powerful physiological reactions with a high degree reliability in response to significant, but short-term fluctuations in the external environment. However, such a high level of physiological responses can be maintained for a relatively short period of time. Such organisms are poorly adapted to prolonged physiological overloads from external factors, even if they are of medium magnitude.

2. The second type ( stayer strategy): the body is less resistant to short-term significant fluctuations in the environment, but has the ability to withstand physiological loads of medium strength for a long time.

3. Most optimal type strategy is intermediate type, which occupies a middle position between the specified extreme types.

The formation of an adaptation strategy is genetically determined, but in the process of individual life, appropriate upbringing and training, their options can be corrected. It should be noted that in the same person, different homeostatic systems can have different strategies for physiological adaptation.

It has been established that in people with a predominance of the first type strategy (“sprinter”), the simultaneous combination of work and recovery processes is weakly expressed and these processes require a clearer rhythm (i.e., division in time).

On the contrary, people with a predominance of type 2 strategy (“stayer”) have low reserve capacity and the degree of rapid mobilization, but work processes are more easily combined with recovery processes, which provides the possibility of a long-term load.

Thus, in conditions of northern latitudes, people with variants of the "sprinter" type strategy experience rapid exhaustion and impaired lipid-energy metabolism, which leads to the development of chronic pathological processes. At the same time, in people belonging to the “stayer” strategy variant, adaptive reactions to the specific conditions of high latitudes are the most adequate and allow them to stay in these conditions for a long time without the development of pathological processes.

In order to determine the effectiveness of adaptation processes, certain criteria and methods for diagnosing the functional states of the body.

R. M. Baevsky (1981) proposed to take into account five main criteria:

1 - the level of functioning of physiological systems;

2 - the degree of tension of regulatory mechanisms;

3 - functional reserve;

4 - degree of compensation;

5 - the balance of the elements of the functional system.

The circulatory system can be considered as an indicator of the functional state of the whole organism. Three properties of the circulatory system are considered, with the help of which it is possible to assess the transition from one functional state to another. It:

– level of functioning. It should be understood as the maintenance of certain values of the main indicators of myocardial-hemodynamic homeostasis: stroke and minute volume, pulse rate and blood pressure;

– degree of tension of regulatory mechanisms, which is determined by indicators of autonomic homeostasis, for example, the degree of activation of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system and the level of excitation of the vasomotor center.

– functional reserve. To evaluate it, functional stress tests are usually taken, for example, orthostatic or with physical activity.

Classification of functional states in the development of adaptation diseases (Baevsky R. M., 1980):

1. The state of satisfactory adaptation to environmental conditions. This state is characterized by sufficient functional capabilities of the body, homeostasis is maintained at a minimum tension of the regulatory systems of the body. Functional reserve is not reduced.

2. The state of tension of adaptive mechanisms. The functionality of the body is not reduced. Homeostasis is maintained due to a certain tension of regulatory systems. Functional reserve is not reduced.

3. The state of unsatisfactory adaptation to environmental conditions. The functionality of the body is reduced. Homeostasis is maintained due to a significant tension of regulatory systems or due to the inclusion of compensatory mechanisms. The functional reserve is reduced.

4. Disruption (breakdown) of adaptation mechanisms. A sharp decline functionality of the body. Homeostasis is broken. The functional reserve is sharply reduced.

Disadaptation and development of pathological conditions occur in stages. From the standpoint of biocybernetics, the transition from health to illness is a gradual change in control methods. Each state corresponds to its own character of the structural and functional organization of the biosystem.

The initial stage of the boundary zone between health and pathology is a state of functional tension of adaptation mechanisms. Its most characteristic feature is a high level of functioning, which is ensured by intense or prolonged tension of regulatory systems. The state of tension of adaptive mechanisms, which is not detected during a traditional clinical examination, should be attributed to presonological, that is, preceding the development of the disease.

The later stage of the border zone is a state of unsatisfactory adaptation. It is characterized by a decrease in the level of functioning of the biosystem, a mismatch of its individual elements, the development of fatigue and overwork. The state of unsatisfactory adaptation is an active adaptive process. The organism tries to adapt to the conditions of existence that are excessive for it by changing its functional activity. individual systems and the corresponding tension of regulatory mechanisms. The state of unsatisfied adaptation can be classified as premorbid, since a significant decrease in the functional reserve makes it possible, when using functional tests, to identify an inadequate response of the body, indicating a latent or initial pathology.

From a clinical point of view, only the failure of adaptation refers to pathological conditions, because it is accompanied by noticeable changes in traditionally measured indicators: pulse rate, stroke and minute volume, blood pressure, etc.

According to their manifestations, adaptation diseases are polymorphic in nature, covering various body systems. The most common disease of adaptation in long stay people in adverse conditions (mountain sickness, etc.). Due to the prolonged tension of the mechanisms of regulation, as well as cellular mechanisms, there is an exhaustion and loss of the most important reserves of the body (Gora E.P., 1999). Therefore, for the prevention of adaptation diseases, methods are used to increase the effectiveness of adaptation.

Methods for increasing the effectiveness of adaptation may be specific or nonspecific.

To non-specific methods relate: leisure, hardening, average physical activity, adaptogens and therapeutic dosages of various resort factors that can increase nonspecific resistance, normalize the activity of the main body systems.

Adaptogens- these are means that carry out pharmacological regulation of adaptive processes in the body. According to their origin, adaptogens can be divided into two groups: natural and synthetic. Sources of natural adaptogens are terrestrial and aquatic plants, animals and microorganisms. The most important adaptogens of plant origin include ginseng, eleutherococcus, Chinese magnolia vine, Manchurian aralia, zamaniha, wild rose, etc. Animal preparations include: pantocrine obtained from deer antlers; rantarin - from reindeer antlers, apilak - from royal jelly. Substances isolated from various microorganisms and yeasts (prodigiogan, zymosan, etc.) have been widely used. Vitamins have a high adaptogenic activity. Many effective synthetic compounds are derived from natural products (oil, coal, etc.).

Specific Methods increases in the effectiveness of adaptation are based on an increase in the body's resistance to any particular environmental factor: cold, hypoxia, etc. These include medicines, physiotherapy, special training, etc. (Gora E.P., 1999).

A lot of research in the field of artificial intelligence is faced with the lack of any powerful theory of consciousness and brain activity at the moment. In fact, we have little knowledge of how the brain learns and achieves an adaptive outcome. However, at the moment there is a noticeable increase in the mutual influence of the field of artificial intelligence and neuroscience. Based on the results of mathematical modeling of brain activity, new goals are set for experiments in the field of neurobiology and psychophysiology, and the experimental data of biologists, in turn, largely influence the vector of AI development.

Based on the foregoing, it becomes clear that for the future successful development of bionic AI, close cooperation between mathematicians and neuroscientists is necessary, which in the end will be fruitful for both areas. For this, in particular, it is necessary to study modern advances in theoretical neurobiology.

At the moment, there are three most developed and partly experimentally tested theories of the structure of consciousness in the field of theoretical neuroscience: the theory of functional systems by P.K. Anokhin, the theory of neuronal group selection (neurodarwinism) by Gerald Edelman and the theory of global information spaces by Jean-Pierre Changet (originally formulated by Bernard Baars). The rest of the theories are either modifications of the named ones, or are not confirmed by any experimental data. This article will focus on the first of these theories - Theories of functional systems P.K. Anokhin.

Reactivity and activity paradigms

First of all, it must be said that with all the variety of theories and approaches used in psychology, psychophysiology and neurosciences, they can be divided into two groups. In the first group, reactivity is considered as the main methodological principle that determines the approach to the study of the patterns of brain organization of behavior and activity, in the second - activity (Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. Two paradigms of neurophysiology - reactivity and activity

In accordance with the paradigm of reactivity, a stimulus is followed by a reaction - behavioral in an individual, impulsive in a neuron. In the latter case, the impulsation of the presynaptic neuron is considered as a stimulus.

According to the activity paradigm, the action ends with the achievement of the result and its evaluation. The scheme includes a model of the future result: for a person, for example, contact with a target object.

According to the reactive approach, an agent should not be active in the absence of stimuli. On the contrary, when using the activity paradigm, we can assume the case when the agent did not receive any stimulus from the external environment, however, according to the agent's expectations, it should have arrived. In this case, the agent will act and learn to eliminate the mismatch, which could not be the case in the case of the agent's simplest unconditional response to a stimulus from the external environment.

Theory of functional systems

In the theory of functional systems, as a determinant of behavior, not the past in relation to behavior is considered an event - a stimulus, but the future - a result. Functional system there is a dynamically developing wide distributed system of heterogeneous physiological formations, all parts of which contribute to obtaining a certain useful result. It is the leading value of the result and the model of the future created by the brain that makes it possible to speak not of a reaction to stimuli from the external environment, but of a full-fledged goal-setting.

Rice. 2. General architecture of the functional system
(OA - situational afferentation, PA - starting afferentation)

The architecture of the functional system is shown in fig. 2. The diagram shows the sequence of actions in the implementation of one functional system. First, afferent synthesis occurs, which accumulates signals from the external environment, memory and motivation of the subject. On the basis of afferent synthesis, a decision is made, on the basis of which an action program and an acceptor of the result of an action are formed - a forecast of the effectiveness of the action being performed. After that, the action is directly performed and the physical parameters of the result are taken. One of the most important parts of this architecture is reverse afferentation - feedback, which allows you to judge the success of one or more actions. This directly allows the subject to learn, since by comparing the physical parameters of the result obtained and the predicted result, one can evaluate the effectiveness of purposeful behavior. Moreover, it should be noted that the choice of this or that action is influenced by a lot of factors, the totality of which is processed in the process of afferent synthesis.

Such functional systems are developed in the process evolution and lifelong learning. To summarize, the whole goal of evolution is the development of functional systems that will give the best adaptive effect. The functional systems produced by evolution develop even before birth, when there is no direct contact with the environment, and provide the primary repertoire. It is this fact that indicates evolutionary nature these phenomena. Such processes have been common name – primary systemogenesis .

System-evolutionary theory developed by Shvyrkov V.B. based on the theory of functional systems, even rejected the concept of a “starting stimulus” and considered a behavioral act not in isolation, but as a component of a behavioral continuum: a sequence of behavioral acts performed by an individual throughout his life (Fig. 3) . The next act in the continuum is implemented after the achievement and evaluation of the result of the previous act. Such an evaluation is a necessary part of the processes of organization of the next act, which, therefore, can be considered as transformational or processes of transition from one act to another.

Rice. 3. Behavioral-temporal continuum

From all of the above, it follows that an individual, and even an individual neuron, must have the ability to develop an image of the result of an action and the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of their behavior. When these conditions are met, the behavior can be safely called purposeful.

However, the processes of systemogenesis occur in the brain not only in development (primary systemogenesis), but also during the life of the subject. Systemogenesis is the formation of new systems in the learning process. Within the framework of the system selection concept of learning, the formation of a new system is considered as the formation of a new element of individual experience in the learning process. The formation of new functional systems during learning is based on the selection of neurons from the "reserve" (presumably low active or "silent" cells). These neurons may be referred to as prespecialized cells.

The selection of neurons depends on their individual properties, i.e. on the characteristics of their metabolic "needs". The selected cells become specialized in relation to the newly formed system - system-specialized. This specialization of neurons in relation to newly formed systems is constant. In this way, new system turns out to be an “addition” to the previously formed ones, “layering” on them. This process is called secondary systemogenesis .

The following provisions of the system-evolutionary theory:
about the presence in the brain of animals of different types of a large number of "silent" cells;
about increasing the number of active cells during training;
that newly formed neuronal specializations remain constant
that learning involves recruiting new neurons rather than retraining old ones,
are consistent with the data obtained in the work of a number of laboratories.

Separately, I would like to note that, according to modern concepts of psychophysiology and system evolutionary theory, the number and composition of the functional systems of an individual is determined both by the processes of evolutionary adaptation, which are reflected in the genome, and by individual lifelong learning.

The theory of functional systems is being successfully studied by means of simulation modeling and various models of adaptive behavior control are built on its basis.

Instead of a conclusion

The theory of functional systems at one time was the first to introduce the concept of purposefulness of behavior by comparing the prediction of the result with its actual parameters, as well as learning as a way to eliminate the mismatch of the body with the environment. Many provisions of this theory are already in need of significant revision and adaptation, taking into account new experimental data. However, to date, this theory is one of the most developed and biologically adequate.

I would like to note once again that from my point of view, further development of the field of AI is impossible without close cooperation with neuroscientists, without building new models based on powerful theories.

Bibliography

. Aleksandrov Yu.I. "Introduction to Systemic Psychophysiology". // Psychology of the XXI century. Moscow: Per Se, pp. 39-85 (2003).
. Aleksandrov Yu.I., Anokhin K.V. etc. Neuron. Signal processing. Plastic. Modeling: A Fundamental Guide. Tyumen: Tyumen State University Publishing House (2008).
. Anokhin P.K. Essays on the physiology of functional systems. Moscow: Medicine (1975).
. Anokhin P.K. "Ideas and facts in the development of the theory of functional systems". // Psychological journal. V.5, pp. 107-118 (1984).
. Anokhin P.K. "Systemogenesis as a general regularity of the evolutionary process". // Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine. No. 8, vol. 26 (1948).
. Shvyrkov V.B. Introduction to objective psychology. Neuronal foundations of the psyche. Moscow: Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1995).
. Aleksandrov Yu.I. Psychophysiology: Textbook for universities. 2nd ed. St. Petersburg: Peter (2003).
. Aleksandrov Yu.I. "Learning and Memory: A Systems Perspective". // Second Simonov readings. M.: Ed. RAN, pp. 3-51 (2004).
. Theory of systemogenesis. Under. ed. K.V.Sudakova. Moscow: Horizon (1997).
. Jog M.S., Kubota K, Connolly C.I., Hillegaart V., Graybiel A.M. "Bulding neural representations of habits". // Science. Vol. 286, pp. 1745-1749 (1999).
. Red "ko V.G., Anokhin K.V., Burtsev M.S., Manolov A.I., Mosalov O.P., Nepomnyashchikh V.A., Prokhorov D.V. "Project "Animat Brain": Designing the Animat Control System on the Basis of the Functional Systems Theory" // Anticipatory Behavior in Adaptive Learning Systems LNAI 4520, pp. 94-107 (2007).
. Red "ko V.G., Prokhorov D.V., Burtsev M.S. "Theory of Functional Systems, Adaptive Critics and Neural Networks" // Proceedings of IJCNN 2004. Pp. 1787-1792 (2004).

Ministry of Higher vocational education RF

Russian State University for the Humanities

Institute of Psychology

Sorokin Alexander Alekseevich

I course, 1 group.

abstract

“Basic concepts in the theory of functional systems”.

Moscow,

1999

What is a functional system ?

In this paper, I must describe as clearly and briefly as possible the basic concepts of the theory of P.K. Anokhin about functional systems as the principles of life activity. Therefore, before disassembling the components of the system, it is necessary to highlight what it is and what it functions for.

The main physiological laws of such systems were formulated by Anokhin's laboratory back in 1935, i.e. long before the first works on cybernetics were published, but the meaning of the publications corresponded to the principles that Anokhin singled out later. By their architecture, functional systems fully correspond to any cybernetic model with feedback, and therefore the study of the properties of various functional systems of the body, the comparison of the role of particular and general laws in them, will undoubtedly serve to the knowledge of any systems with automatic regulation.

“By a functional system, we mean such a combination of processes and mechanisms, which, being formed dynamically depending on a given situation, will certainly lead to a final adaptive effect that is beneficial for the organism in just this particular situation. ” . That is, in the above formulation, they want to convey to us that a functional system can be composed of such apparatuses and mechanisms that can be very remote in anatomical terms. It turns out that the composition of the functional system (hereinafter FS) and the direction of its activity is determined not by the organ, nor by the anatomical proximity of the components, but by the dynamics of the association, dictated only by the quality of the final adapted effect.

In some cases, the formation of self-regulating systems is called " biological regulation ” ( Wagner, 1958), but only when self-regulation was considered in relation to living beings. However, regardless of the name, in order to acquire an adapted meaning for the organism, these various forms of association in all cases must have all the properties that we formulate for FS. It turns out that PS does not apply only to the cerebral cortex or even to the whole brain. She is in her very essence. central-peripheral education, in which impulses circulate both from the center to the periphery and from the periphery to the center ( reverse afferentation), which creates continuous information of the central nervous system about the results achieved on the periphery.

It is also necessary to characterize the basis or "life knot" of any FS - an extremely tightly linked functional pair - the final effect of the system and the apparatus for assessing the sufficiency or insufficiency of this effect with the help of special receptor formations. Usually, “ ultimate adaptive effect ” serves the basic tasks of the survival of the organism and is vital to one degree or another. This position is absolutely true when it comes to vital functions, such as: respiration, blood osmotic pressure, blood pressure, blood sugar concentration, etc. Here, the FS is a branched physiological organization that makes up specific physiological apparatus, serving to maintain the vital constants of the body (homeostasis) those. implementation of the process of self-regulation. When it comes to FS, this applies not only to systems with constant finite, which have mostly innate mechanisms.

The main difference in the construction and organization of this type of system, its formation is extreme or based on conditioned reflex. However, despite such different qualitative differences, all FS have the same architectural features, and the proof of this is that “FS really is the universal principle of organizing processes and mechanisms, ending in obtaining the final adaptive effect ”. It is generally accepted that FS is considered as a unit of human integrative activity.

With the help of P.K. Anokhin formulated the main postulates in the general theory of FS.

Postulate one

The leading system-forming factor of FS at any level of organization is an adaptive result that is useful for the life of the organism.

Postulate two

Any functional system of the body is built on the basis of the principle of self-regulation: the deviation of the result from the level that ensures normal life activity, through the activity of the corresponding functional system, is itself the reason for restoring the optimal level of this result.

Postulate three

Functional systems are central-peripheral formations that selectively combine various organs and tissues in order to achieve adaptive results useful for the body.

Fourth postulate

Functional systems of different levels are characterized by isomorphic organization: they have the same type of architectonics.

Postulate fifth

Individual elements in functional systems interact to achieve their beneficial results for the body.

Postulate six

Functional systems and their individual parts selectively mature in the process of ontogenesis, thereby reflecting the general patterns of systemogenesis.

Now we know that FS is an organization of active elements in an interconnection, which is aimed at achieving a useful adaptive result. It must be assumed that the time has come to analyze the concepts that are included in the system, because this is the main theme.

Basic concepts in the theory of FS.

According to different sources, the basic concepts in the FS can be distinguished in different ways. To begin with, we give the classical scheme of the system itself, and then we will analyze its individual concepts.

1) Trigger stimulus (otherwise irritation).

2) Situational afferentations.

3) Memory.

4) Dominant motivation.

5) Afferent synthesis.

6) Making a decision.

7) Action result acceptor.

8) Program of action.

9) Efferent excitations.

10) Action.

11) The result of the action.

12) Result parameters

13) Reverse afferentation.

If I have not forgotten anything, then it is in this arrangement that the system works. Only in many works there is not even a mention of such parts of the system as: installation afferentation, starting stimulus. This is replaced by one single phrase - afferent synthesis. It constitutes the initial stage of a behavioral act of any degree of complexity, and, consequently, the beginning of the work of the FS is also it. The importance of afferent synthesis lies in the fact that it determines all subsequent behavior of the organism. The main task of this stage is to collect the necessary information about various parameters of the external environment. Thanks to him, from a variety of external and internal stimuli, the body selects the main ones and creates the goal of behavior. (it must be assumed that the mechanism of dominant motivation operates in parallel here) . I believe that the dominant motivation is actions at the moment aimed at solving, satisfying any need, necessity, desire that prevails over all other motives. Since the choice of such information is influenced by both the goal of behavior and previous experience of life, then afferent synthesis always individual. I have already mentioned that the stage of afferent synthesis includes more than one component. According to the data installation afferentation and with the assistance dominant motivation, based on the experience in memory, a decision is made about what to do. It happens in decision block. If several triggering stimuli reach this block at once, then a decision should be formed about the dominant course of action. (but sometimes about dominant ones, i.e. several) and launching it into the execution program, the rest should be discarded and disintegrated as no longer functional. There is a transition to the formation of an action program, which ensures the subsequent implementation of one action from a set of potentially possible ones. A copy of the chosen solution is passed to the acceptor block of the result of actions, and the main information is sent to the block efferent synthesis. The command, represented by a complex of efferent excitations, is sent to the peripheral executive bodies and translates into action. This block already contains a certain set of standard programs worked out in the course of individual and species experience to obtain positive results. The task of the block at the moment is to determine and “connect” the most adequate program. An important feature of FS is its individual and changing requirements for afferentation. It is the quantity and quality of afferent impulses that characterizes the degree of complexity, arbitrariness or automation of a functional system.

The tasks scheduled for execution in the decision block and launched into implementation should be called the program. What is the program for? The answer has already been given above, for the same reason that the system exists - to achieve the ultimate goal. it practical part systems as opposed to strategic afferent synthesis. But the program for any external influences may not achieve the goal. Why destroy the whole system and form a new one because of this? It would be non-functional, provide poor adaptability, and take more time. The system does not act in this way, already when the program is executed, the acceptor of the result. It always stores a copy of the previously obtained solution. It is a necessary part of the FS - it is the central apparatus for evaluating the results and parameters of an action that has not yet taken place. Let's assume that a certain behavioral action should be carried out, and already before its implementation, an idea about it or an image of the expected result is modeled. In the course of a real action, efferent signals go from the acceptor to the nervous motor structures, which ensure the achievement of the necessary goal. If we assume that due to some influences of the installation afferentation, the life of the entire system is endangered, then the acceptor corrects the program right in the course of its execution, and adequately with the changes. And the success / failure of a behavioral act is signaled by the afferent impulses coming to the brain from all receptors that register the successive stages of a specific action. (reverse afferentation). Evaluation of a behavioral act, both in general and in detail, is impossible without such accurate information about the results of each of the actions. To guarantee the implementation of any behavioral act, it is necessary to have this mechanism. Moreover, most likely the organism would have died in the first hours due to inadequacy of actions, if such a mechanism did not exist.

The theory of functional systems describes the organization of life processes in an integral organism interacting with the environment.

A functional system (FS) is a unit of integrative activity of the whole organism, including elements of various anatomical affiliations that actively interact with each other and with the external environment in the direction of achieving a useful, adaptive result.

An adaptive result is a certain ratio of the organism and the external environment, which stops the action aimed at achieving it, and makes it possible to implement the next behavioral act. To achieve a result means to change the ratio between the organism and the environment in a direction that is beneficial for the organism.

The achievement of an adaptive result in a FS is carried out using specific mechanisms, of which the most important are:

Afferent synthesis of all information entering the nervous system;

Making a decision with the simultaneous formation of an apparatus for predicting the result in the form of an afferent model of the results of an action;
- actual action;
- comparison based on feedback afferent model of the acceptor of the results of the action and the parameters of the performed action;
correction of behavior in case of mismatch between real and ideal (modeled by the nervous system) parameters of action.

The composition of a functional system is not determined by the spatial proximity of the structures or their anatomical affiliation. FS can include both closely and distantly located structures of the body. It can involve individual parts of any anatomically integral systems and even parts of individual whole organs. At the same time, a separate nerve cell, muscle, part of an organ, the entire organ can participate by their activity in achieving a useful adaptive result, only if they are included in the corresponding functional system. The factor determining the selectivity of these compounds is the biological and physiological architecture of the PS itself, and the criterion for the effectiveness of these associations is the final adaptive result.

Since for any living organism the number of possible adaptive situations is in principle unlimited, therefore, the same nerve cell, muscle, part of an organ or the organ itself can be part of several functional systems in which they will perform different functions.

Thus, when studying the interaction of an organism with the environment, the unit of analysis is a holistic, dynamically organized functional system. Types and levels of complexity of FS. Functional systems have different specializations. Some are responsible for breathing, others for movement, others for nutrition, etc. FS can belong to different hierarchical levels and be of varying degrees of complexity: some of them are characteristic of all individuals of a given species (and even other species); others are individual, i.e. are formed for life in the process of mastering experience and form the basis of learning.

Hierarchy - the arrangement of parts or elements of the whole in order from the highest to the lowest, and each higher level is endowed with special powers in relation to the lower ones. Heterarchy is the principle of interaction between levels, when none of them has a permanent role as a leader and a coalition association of higher and higher levels is allowed. lower levels into a single system of action.

Functional systems differ in the degree of plasticity, i.e. by the ability to change their constituent components. For example, the PS of respiration consists mainly of stable (innate) structures and, therefore, has low plasticity: as a rule, the same central and peripheral components are involved in the act of respiration. At the same time, the FS that provides the movement of the body is plastic and can quite easily rearrange component relationships (you can reach something, run, jump, crawl).

afferent synthesis. initial stage behavioral act of any degree of complexity, and, consequently, the beginning of the work of the FS is an afferent synthesis. Afferent synthesis is the process of selection and synthesis of various signals about environment and the degree of success of the organism's activity in its conditions, on the basis of which the purpose of the activity, its management is formed.

The importance of afferent synthesis lies in the fact that this stage determines all subsequent behavior of the organism. The task of this stage is to collect the necessary information about various parameters of the external environment. Thanks to afferent synthesis, the body selects the main ones from a variety of external and internal stimuli and creates the goal of behavior. Since the choice of such information is influenced by both the goal of behavior and previous experience of life, afferent synthesis is always individual. At this stage, three components interact: motivational excitation, situational afferentation (i.e., information about the external environment) and traces of past experience retrieved from memory.

Motivation - impulses that cause the activity of the body and determine its direction. Motivational excitation appears in the central nervous system with the emergence of any need in an animal or person. It is a necessary component of any behavior, which is always aimed at satisfying the dominant need: vital, social or ideal. The importance of motivational excitation for afferent synthesis is already evident from the fact that a conditioned signal loses the ability to evoke previously developed behavior (for example, a dog coming to a certain feeder to get food) if the animal is already well fed and, therefore, it lacks food motivational excitation.

Motivational excitation plays a special role in the formation of afferent synthesis. Any information entering the central nervous system correlates with the dominant in given time motivational excitation, which is, as it were, a filter that selects what is necessary and discards what is unnecessary for a given motivational setting.

Situational afferentation is information about the external environment. As a result of the processing and synthesis of environmental stimuli, a decision is made about “what to do” and a transition occurs to the formation of an action program that ensures the choice and subsequent implementation of one action from a variety of potentially possible ones. The command, represented by a complex of efferent excitations, is sent to the peripheral executive organs and is embodied in the corresponding action. An important feature of FS is its individual and changing requirements for afferentation. It is the quantity and quality of afferent impulses that characterizes the degree of complexity, arbitrariness or automation of a functional system. Completion of the stage of afferent synthesis is accompanied by a transition to the stage of decision-making, which determines the type and direction of behavior. The decision-making stage is realized through a special, important stage of a behavioral act - the formation of an apparatus for accepting the results of an action.

A necessary part of the FS is the acceptor of the results of an action - the central apparatus for evaluating the results and parameters of an action that has not yet taken place. Thus, even before the implementation of any behavioral act, a living organism already has an idea about it, a kind of model or image of the expected result.

A behavioral act is a segment of a behavioral continuum from one outcome to another outcome. Behavioral continuum is a sequence of behavioral acts. In the course of a real action, efferent signals go from the acceptor to the nervous and motor structures, which ensure the achievement of the necessary goal. The success or failure of a behavioral act is signaled by afferent impulses coming to the brain from all receptors that register the successive stages of a specific action (reverse afferentation). Reverse afferentation is a process of behavior correction based on information received by the brain from the outside about the results of ongoing activities. Evaluation of a behavioral act, both in general and in detail, is impossible without such accurate information about the results of each of the actions. This mechanism is absolutely necessary for the successful implementation of each behavioral act.

Each FS has the ability to self-regulate, which is inherent in it as a whole. With a possible defect in the FS, the components of its components are rapidly accelerated so that the desired result, even if less efficiently (both in time and energy costs), would still be achieved.

The main features of FS. P.K. Anokhin formulated the following features of a functional system:

1) FS, as a rule, is a central-peripheral formation, thus becoming a specific apparatus of self-regulation. It maintains its unity on the basis of the circulation of information from the periphery to the centers and from the centers to the periphery.
2) The existence of any FS is necessarily associated with the existence of some clearly defined adaptive effect. It is this final effect that determines one or another distribution of excitation and activity over the functional system as a whole.
3) The presence of receptor apparatuses makes it possible to evaluate the results of the action of a functional system. In some cases, they can be congenital, and in others - developed in the process of life.
4) Each adaptive effect of a FS (i.e., the result of any action performed by the body) forms a stream of reverse afferentations, representing in sufficient detail all the visual signs (parameters) of the results obtained. In the case when, when selecting the most effective result, this reverse afferentation reinforces the most successful action, it becomes a “sanctioning” (defining) afferentation.
5) Functional systems, on the basis of which the adaptive activity of newborn animals to their characteristic environmental factors, have all the above features and are architecturally mature at the time of birth. It follows from this that the unification of the FS parts (the principle of consolidation) should become functionally complete at some period of fetal development even before the moment of birth.

Significance of the FS theory for psychology. Starting from its first steps, the theory of functional systems has received recognition from natural science psychology. In the most convex form, the meaning of a new stage in development national physiology was formulated by A.R. Luria (1978).

He believed that the introduction of the theory of functional systems allows a new approach to solving many problems in the organization of the physiological foundations of behavior and the psyche.

Thanks to the FS theory:

There has been a replacement of a simplified understanding of the stimulus as the only causative agent of behavior with more complex ideas about the factors that determine behavior, with the inclusion of models of the required future or the image of the expected result among them.
- an idea was formulated about the role of “reverse afferentation” and its significance for further fate the action performed, the latter radically changes the picture, showing that all further behavior depends on the action performed.
- the concept of a new functional apparatus was introduced, which compares the initial image of the expected result with the effect of the real action - the "acceptor" of the results of the action. The acceptor of the results of action is a psychophysiological mechanism for predicting and evaluating the results of activity, functioning in the decision-making process and acting on the basis of correlation with the model of the expected result in memory.

PK Anokhin came close to the analysis of the physiological mechanisms of decision-making. The FS theory is a model of the rejection of the tendency to reduce the most complex forms mental activity to isolated elementary physiological processes and an attempt to create a new doctrine of the physiological foundations of active forms of mental activity. However, it should be emphasized that, despite the importance of the FS theory for modern psychology, there are many debatable issues related to the scope of its application.

Thus, it has been repeatedly noted that the universal theory of functional systems needs to be specified in relation to psychology and requires more meaningful development in the process of studying the psyche and human behavior. Very solid steps in this direction were taken by V.B. Shvyrkov (1978, 1989), V.D. Shadrikov (1994, 1997). It would be premature to claim that the FS theory has become the main research paradigm in psychophysiology. There are stable psychological constructs and phenomena that do not receive the necessary justification in the context of the theory of functional systems. It's about about the problem of consciousness, the psychophysiological aspects of which are currently being developed very productively.

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Theory of the functional system PK (Anokhin). Functional system of behavior.

The theory of the functional system of Petr Kuzmich Anokhin was developed during the second half of the 20th century. It arose as a natural stage in the development of the reflex theory.

The theory of functional systems describes the organization of life processes in an integral organism interacting with the environment.

This theory was developed while studying the mechanisms of compensation for impaired body functions. As was shown by P.K. Anokhin, compensation mobilizes a significant number of different physiological components - central and peripheral formations, functionally combined with each other to obtain a useful, adaptive effect necessary for a living organism at a given particular moment in time. Such a broad functional association of variously localized structures and processes to obtain the final adaptive result was called a “functional system”. A functional system (FS) is a unit of integrative activity of the whole organism, including elements of various anatomical affiliations that actively interact with each other and with the external environment in the direction of achieving a useful, adaptive result.

The main postulate of the reflex theory was the postulate of the leading value of the stimulus, causing a reflex action through the excitation of the corresponding reflex arc. The highest flowering of the reflex theory is the teaching of I.P. Pavlova on higher nervous activity. However, within the framework of the reflex theory, it is difficult to judge the mechanisms of purposeful activity of the organism, the behavior of animals. I.P. Pavlov managed to introduce the principle of consistency into ideas about the regulation of functions by the nervous system. His student P.K. Anokhin, and then the student of P.K. Anokhin, Academician Konstantin Viktorovich Sudakov developed modern theory functional system.

The presentation of the main provisions of the theory is given according to KV Sudakov.

1. The determining moment of the activity of various functional systems that provide homeostasis and various forms of behavior of animals and humans is not the action itself (and even more so not the stimulus for this action - the stimulus), but the result of this action that is useful for the system and the whole organism as a whole.

2. The initiating role in the formation of purposeful behavior belongs to the initial needs, which organize special functional systems, including motivation mechanisms, and on their basis mobilize genetically determined or individually acquired behavior programs.

3. Each functional system is built on the principle of self-regulation, according to which any disconnection of the result of the activity of the functional system from the level that ensures normal metabolism, itself (deviation) is an incentive to mobilize the corresponding systemic mechanisms aimed at achieving a result that satisfies the corresponding needs.

4. Functional systems selectively combine various organs and tissues to ensure the effective functioning of the body.

5. In functional systems, a constant assessment of the result of activity is carried out using reverse afferentation.

6. The architectonics of a functional system is much more complex than a reflex arc. The reflex arc is only part of the functional system.

7. In the central structure of functional systems, along with the linear principle of the propagation of excitation, there is a special integration of advanced excitations that program the properties of the final result of the activity.

According to P.K. Anokhin, only such a complex of components selectively involved in it can be called a system, in which interaction and relationships take on the character of mutual assistance of components aimed at obtaining a focused useful result. The result is an integral and decisive component of the system, a tool that creates an orderly cooperation between all components.

From the point of view of academician Anokhin, functional systems (digestion, excretion, blood circulation) are dynamic self-regulating organizations of all constituent elements, the activity of which is subordinated to obtaining adaptive results that are vital for the body.

Conventionally, KV Sudakov distinguishes three groups of adaptive results.

Leading indicators of the internal environment that determine the normal metabolism of tissues (preservation of constants of the internal environment, homeostasis);

The results of behavioral activities that satisfy basic biological needs (interaction of an individual with the environment, search for food);

The results of the herd activities of animals that meet the needs of the community (preservation of the species);

For a person, the fourth group of results is also characteristic:

The results of a person's social activity that satisfy his social needs, due to his position in a certain socio-economic formation.

Since in the whole organism there are many useful adaptive results that provide various aspects of its metabolism, the organism exists due to the combined activity of many functional systems. There is a concept of a hierarchy of functional systems, because of the existence of a hierarchy of results.