Blancaflor, Windel Genesis

Gamboa, Alexis Jade

Report Outline

Donald Olding Hebb

I. Biography
A.
Donald Olding Hebb (July 22, 1904- August 20, 1985) was, during his
lifetime, an extraordinarily influential figure for the disciplines of psychology and
behavioral and computational neuroscience. Since his death, Hebb's seminal ideas
exert an ever-growing influence on those interested in the mind -- natural minds
(cognitive science) and artificial minds (computer science) -- as well as
the brain (neuroscience) and how the brain implements the natural mind (cognitive
neuroscience).
Donald Hebb is often considered the “father of neuropsychology” because
of the way he was able to merge the psychological world with the world of
neuroscience. He is a Canadian psychologist who studied the effects of brain
development on intelligence.

B.
1. Educational Background
-He was place on the 7th Grade at the age of 10
-He graduated from Dalhousie University in 1925 aspiring to write novels
-A graduate student at McGill University.

2. Career and Contribution

-Hebb's studies of intelligence led him to the conclusion that experience played a
much greater role in determining intelligence than was typically assumed
(Hebb, 1942).
-He would later point out that every bit of behavior is jointly determined by heredity
and environment, just as the area of a field is jointly determined by its length
and its width (Hebb, 1953).
-While at the Yerkes, Hebb began writing a book that synthesized different lines of
research into a "general theory of behavior that attempts to bridge the gap
between neurophysiology and psychology."
-Hebb returned to McGill as Professor of Psychology and in 1948 was appointed
chair.
- His most important contribution is condensed in the book, The Organization of
Behavior: A Neuropsychological Theory (1949).
II. Definition of Terms

Axon- is a long, slender projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, in vertebrates, that typically
conducts electrical impulses known as action potentials away from the nerve cell
body.
Cell Assembly- a group of neurons that are repeatedly active at the same time and
develop as a single functional unit, which may become active when any of its
constituent neurons is stimulated.
Dendrites- are the branch-like structures of neurons that extend from the cell body
(Soma). The dendrites receive neural impulses (electrical and chemical signals)
from the axons of other neurons. In this way information travels all around your
body by going from neuron to neuron.
Synaptic plasticity- is the biological process by which specific patterns of synaptic activity
result in changes in synaptic strength and is thought to contribute to learning and
memory. Both pre-synaptic and post-synaptic mechanisms can contribute to the
expression of synaptic plasticity.

III. Learning Theory

The Organization of Behavior: Hebbian Theory

Hebb’s major contribution to the fields of both neuroscience and psychology was
bringing the two together. Published in 1949, The Organization of Behavior: A
Neuropsychological Theory is the book in which Hebb outlined his theory about how
learning is accomplished within the brain. Perhaps the most well-known part of this work
is what has become known as the Hebbian Theory or cell assembly theory.
The Hebbian theory aims to explain how neural pathways are developed based on
experiences. As certain connections are used more frequently, they become stronger
and faster. This hypothesis is perhaps best described by the following passage from The
Organization of Behavior:
“When an axon of cell A is near enough to excite a cell B and repeatedly or
persistently takes part in firing it, some growth process or metabolic change takes place
in one or both cells such that A’s efficiency, as one of the cells firing B, is increased.”
 So, cell A and cell B are located near each other. As cell A is repeatedly involved in
the firing of cell B by exciting it, a change occurs in one of or both the cells. This change
improves how effective cell A is at contributing to the firing of cell B. The two cells
become associated with each other. This is often described as “cells that fire together,
wire together.”

The simultaneous activation of nearby neurons leads to an increase in the strength

of synaptic connection between them and lead to Long-term Potentiation. It is one of
several phenomena underlying synaptic plasticity, the ability of chemical synapses to
change their strength. As memories are thought to be encoded by modification
of synaptic strength, LTP is widely considered one of the major cellular mechanisms that
underlies learning and memory. As the opposing process to LTP, Long-term Depression
(LTD) is one of several processes that serves to selectively weaken specific synapses in
order to make constructive use of synaptic strengthening caused by LTP. This is
necessary because, if allowed to continue increasing in strength, synapses would
ultimately reach a ceiling level of efficiency, which would inhibit the encoding of new
information.
Hebbian theory provides a micro, physiological mechanism for the learning and
memory processes. This theory has also been extended to computational machines that
model biological processes and in artificial intelligence.
 The Organization of Behavior: Bringing Two Groups Together

First and foremost, the purpose of The Organization of Behavior was to illustrate
Hebb’s theory about behavior. It also played a huge role in merging the fields of
psychology and neuroscience. Hebb states this goal in the introduction to the book:
“Another [goal] is to seek a common ground with the anatomist, physiologist, and
neurologist, to show them how psychological theory relates to their problems and at the
same time to make it more possible for them to contribute to that theory.”
Hebb saw a need for psychology to work with neurology and physiology to be able
to explain human behavior in a more objective manner. In this way, the more abstract
“mind” that psychology tended to focus on was merged with the physical, biological brain
function. Hebb argued that this approach was necessary if psychology was going to be
viewed as a scientific discipline.
The field of neuropsychology perseveres under the umbrella of both neuroscience
and psychology, aiming to explore how behavior correlates with brain function.

References

Adams, P. (1998) Hebb and Darwin. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 195, 419–438

Brown, R. E., & Stanford, L. (1997). The Hebb-Williams Maze: 50 years of research (1946-
1996). Society for Neuroscience Abstracts (#110.15), 23, 278.

Hebb, D. O. & Williams, K. (1946). A method of rating animal intelligence. Journal of General
Psychology, 34, 59–65.

Hebb, D. O. (1942). The effects of early and late brain injury upon test scores, and the nature of
normal adult intelligence. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 85, 275-
292.

Hebb, D. O. (1980). D. O. Hebb. In G. Lindzey (Ed.), A history of psychology in autobiography

Vol. VII. San Francisco: W. H. Freeman.

Lashley, K. S. (1929) Brain Mechanisms and Intelligence. A quantitative study of injuries to the
brain. Chicago: U. of Chicago Press.

Skinner, B. F. (1938). The Behavior of Organisms: An Experimental Analysis New York:

Appleton-Century.