| Title & Author | Abstract | |
|---|---|---|
| 10(029) | THE NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES OF LASHLEY AND HEBB
[University Press of America, 1998 xiv, 395 pp. ISBN: 0-761-81165-6] Precis of Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Jack Orbach Department of Psychology Queens College Flushing, NY U.S.A. jorbach@worldnet.att.net |
Abstract:
Beginning in the 1920s, K. S. Lashley startled
psychologists with his theories of the memory trace within the
cerebral cortex. Using terms such as terms mass action,
equipotentiality, and sensory/motor equivalence, Lashley presented
evidence that the engram is widely distributed in the brain, and
that unactivated synapses, like activated ones, seem to show
evidence of learning. His research and nativistic theories made him
world famous by 1929, when he was just 39. He spent his
professional career searching for a mechanism for the reduplication
of the engram. While his contemporaries tried to specify the locus
of the engram in the brain, Lashley found it everywhere. He liked
to quip that the problem is not to find where the trace is located,
but where it is not. Lashley's student, D. O. Hebb, published his
empiricistic theories in 1949, in "The Organization of Behavior,"
and the monograph created a sensation. Hebb used Lorente de No's
reverberatory circuit to provide a mechanism to maintain activity
in the cerebral cortex after the stimulus terminated, the so-called
central autonomous process. This led him to the cell assembly, a
complex reverberatory circuit that could be assembled by
experience. Changes in resistance at the synapse with learning came
to be called the Hebb synapse. That monograph was highly praised
for the breadth of its treatment. The present book documents how
Lashley anticipated Hebb's introduction of the reverberatory
circuit by some 12 years. Lashley's Vanuxem Lectures of 1952 are
printed for the first time, together with nine of his previously
published theoretical papers. Lashley's and Hebb's theories are
reviewed and reevaluated fifty years after publication of Hebb's
monograph, and a systematic effort is made to compare and contrast
the views of teacher and student.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 10(045) | THE SNARK IS STILL A BOOJUM
Book Review of Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Daniel N. Robinson Distinguished Research Professor & Professor of Psychology Georgetown University Washington, D. C. 20057 and Visiting Professor of Psychology Brigham Young University Provo, Utah 84602 robinsdn@gunet.georgetown.edu |
Abstract:
This "living history" of the neuropsychological thinking
of Lashley and Hebb provides the reader with useful, instructive
and suggestive details on matters of priority, influence and
perspective. Orbach's own expert knowledge of neuropsychology
serves the reader well as the author assesses contemporary thinking
in the brain sciences in light of the issues that so engaged the
energies of Lashley and Hebb. But the greater service is bringing
to print a number of Lashley's own lectures and essays (chiefly his
Vanuxem Lectures) previously available only in special
collections. Even the several previously published articles take
on renewed importance as a result of Orbach's discussion and
critical appraisals of contemporary thought.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 10(052) | NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND NEUROPHILOSOPHY
Reply to Robinson on Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Jack Orbach Department of Psychology Queens College Flushing, NY U.S.A. jorbach@worldnet.att.net |
Abstract:
Are Lashley's and Hebb's Neuropsychological theories
really theories? Do they solve any neurophilosophical problems?
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 10(053) | CELL ASSEMBLIES: WHOSE IDEA?
Book Review of Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Peter M. Milner Department of Psychology McGill University 1205 Dr. Penfield Ave. Montreal, QC CANADA H3A 1B1 Ps64@musica.mcgill.ca |
Abstract:
Orbach raises the possibility that Lashley anticipated
the theory advanced by Hebb (1949) in his book The Organisation of
Behaviour. According to Orbach, Lashley's publications provide
evidence that he was thinking of a theory similar to Hebb's before
about 1945, when Lashley first saw a draft of Hebb's book. Orbach
reproduces a number of Lashley's papers which he believes provide
support for this thesis. I consider the evidence far from
convincing. Hebb's assemblies are learned representations of
concepts. Lashley's resonators are innate aids to perception.
Hebb's assemblies, but not Lashley's resonators, can be associated
with each other in explaining thought.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 10(056) | HEBB'S CELL ASSEMBLIES; LASHLEY'S REVERBERATORY CIRCUITS
Reply to Milner on Orbach Lashley-Hebb Jack Orbach Department of Psychology Queens College Flushing, NY, 11367 U.S.A. jorbach@worldnet.att.net |
Abstract:
What is the valid assignment of priorities to Lashley and
Hebb for proposing neuropsychological mechanisms to sustain neural
activity in the cerebral cortex?
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 10(061) | THE UNLEARNED REVERBERATORY CIRCUIT:
LASHLEY'S LEGACY TO HEBB, AND HOW HEBB INVESTED IT Book Review of Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Don C. Donderi Psychology Department McGill University Montreal, Quebec Canada donderi@hebb.psych.mcgill.ca |
Abstract:
Orbach (1998, 1999) combines a memoir of his experiences
as a graduate student of both Karl S. Lashley and Donald Hebb, with
a critical review of the differences between Lashley's and Hebb's
theoretical use of recurrent neural circuits. Orbach also reprints
nine of Lashley's important papers and adds four previously
unpublished lectures that Lashley delivered in 1952. Although
flawed by stylistic difficulties and one major omission, the book
provides a clear contrast between the early use of recurrent
circuits by Lashley and the later approach taken by Hebb.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 10(063) | LASHLEY'S UNLEARNED REVERBERATORY CIRCUIT;
HEBB'S ACQUIRED CELL ASSEMBLY Reply to Donderi on Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Jack Orbach Department of Psychology Queens College Flushing, NY, 11367 U.S.A. jorbach@worldnet.att.net |
Abstract:
Donderi (1999) finds the treatment of Hebb in (Orbach 1998)
deficient because of the omission from consideration of Hebb's (1980)
"Essay on Mind." However, my object was to review Hebb's
1949 contributions and to compare them with those of his teacher,
Lashley, who died in 1958. In my book, the story more or less ends
there.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 10(076) | MAKING ROOM FOR INSIGHT AND INCREMENTALISM IN THE SAME BRAIN:
THE CONTRIBUTION OF D. O. HEBB Book Review of Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Stephen Kaplan Department of Psychology and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science University of Michigan 525 E. University Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109 USA Leeann L. Fu Electrical Engineering and Computer Science University of Michigan 1301 Beal Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2122 USA skap@umich.edu lfu@umich.edu |
Abstract:
Although their theories were in many respects similar,
Orbach identifies two areas of difference between Lashley and
Hebb: stimulus generalization and the nature of the learning
process. Orbach favors Lashley; we point to reasons for believing
that Hebb's position is the stronger one. Convinced that Hebb's
theory was derived from Lashley and at the same time inferior to
Lashley's, Orbach feels it necessary to explain that Hebb had
greater impact because he was the better writer. We propose two
additional explanatory factors, namely, that Hebb offered a
synthesis of the associative and the cognitive, and that psychology
in the decades following the publication of "The Organization of
Behavior" was hungry for just such a synthesis.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 10(081) | LASHLEY'S LEGACY
Reply to Kaplan & Fu on Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Jack Orbach Department of Psychology Queens College Flushing NY, 11367 Jorbach@worldnet.att.net |
Abstract:
In their review of 'The Neuropsychological Theories of
Lashley and Hebb,' Kaplan & Fu suggest that I did not accord Hebb
the recognition he deserved. They try to explain the popularity of
his 1949 monograph by citing Hebb's associative perspective,
something that was anathema to Lashley. On the other hand, Lashley
contributed the reverberatory circuit to neuropsychological
theory. In addition, I cite Lashley's latter day conceptual
legacies to neuro-psychological theory.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 11(008) | HEBB VERSUS LASHLEY: THE PRACTITIONER'S CASE
Book Review of Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Daniel J Amit Dept of Physics, Universita' di Roma, La Sapienza http://racah.phys.huji.ac.il/~damita/ amit@jupiter.roma1.infn.it |
Abstract:
Lashley made important contributions but was less
prescient than Hebb, especially concerning the importance of
synaptic learning and localization. On balance, it is Hebb's view
that has prevailed.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 11(016) | LASHLEY'S WRITING STYLE
Reply to Amit on Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Jack Orbach Department of Psychology Queens College Flushing NY, 11367 jorbach@worldnet.att.net |
Abstract:
Amit's enthusiasm for Lashley's writings on
neuropsychological theory is noted and discussed.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 11(025) | NEUROPSYCHOLOGY EVOLVING
Book Review of Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Bryan Kolb Department of Psychology & Neuroscience University of Lethbridge Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4 CANADA Kolb@uleth.ca |
Abstract:
Orbach seeks to provide a retrospective view of the role
of Lashley and Hebb in the development of neuropsychological theory
and, in particular, the Hebb synapse. The book provides a unique
resource for neurohistorians interested in the origin of ideas that
have shaped neuropsychological thinking for the second half of the
century. One theme throughout Orbach's notes is that Lashley did
not receive the credit he deserved. Although Orbach's point is well
taken, I was not entirely convinced, any more than I am that Darwin
received more than his share of credit for his theory of
evolution.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 11(026) | HEBB AND LASHLEY: CONVERGENCES AND DIVERGENCES
IN LIGHT OF RECENT NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL FINDINGS Book Review of Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Jaap Murre University of Amsterdam Department of Psychology Roetersstraat 15 1018 WB Amsterdam The Netherlands Antonino Raffone University of Rome "La Sapienza" Department of Psychology Via dei Marsi, 78 I 00185 Rome Italy jaap@murre.org raffone@uniroma1.it |
Abstract:
We focus on some similarities and differences between
Lashley's and Hebb's positions regarding the reverberatory circuit,
memory traces, and local versus global patterns. We also consider
the implications of their views for current research, comparing
some of their agreements and disagreements in the light of recent
experimental findings and models.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 11(027) | FROM BEHAVIOR TO BRAIN AND BACK AGAIN
Book Review of Orbach on Lashley-Hebb A. Charles Catania Department of Psychology University of Maryland, Baltimore County 1000 Hilltop Circle Baltimore, MD 21250 USA catania@umbc.edu |
Abstract:
Orbach's examination of the work of Lashley and Hebb is
of great historical interest, but it illustrates a vast gap, both
past and present, between research on the nervous system and
research on behavior. Grand strides in the neurosciences have taken
place with insufficient attention to the behavior of the organisms
that are the hosts of nervous systems. In the final analysis,
nervous systems are selected by evolutionary contingencies on the
basis of the behavior that they engender. If we fail to understand
the behavior, we will probably also fail to understand how the
brain serves it. As we move away from the Decade of the Brain into
the Decade of Behavior, those unfamiliar with the properties of
behavior will be at a disadvantage when they seek its sources in
the brain, because they will not know what they should be looking
for. Lashley was on the right track when he used the properties of
serial order in behavior to make inferences about the nervous
system, but too often both Lashley and Hebb speculated about the
nervous system without firm grounding in what was even then known
about learning and behavior. We now know much more, and
neuroscience and the science of behavior have each reached a point
at which a modern synthesis holds great promise.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 11(047) | FROM LASHLEY TO HEBB:
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A BIOPHYSICAL THEORY OF LEARNING Book Review of Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Günther Palm Neural Information Processing University of Ulm D-89069 Ulm, Germany http://www.informatik.uni-ulm.de/ni/mitarbeiter/GPalm_e.html palm@neuro.informatik.uni-ulm.de |
Abstract:
Orbach presents Lashley's ideas much more extensively and
coherently than Hebb's. Most interesting is the discussion of
Lashley's ideas vis-a-vis Hebb's "Organisation of Behavior".
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 11(048) | CONTINUING EVOLUTION OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY
Reply to Kolb on Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Jack Orbach Department of Psychology Queens College Flushing, NY, 11367 Jorbach@worldnet.att.net |
Abstract:
Contributions of Hebb and Lashley to neuropsychological
theory are reexamined.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 11(049) | A SYNTHESIS OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND A SCIENCE OF BEHAVIOR?
Reply to Catania on Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Jack Orbach Department of Psychology Queens College Flushing, NY, 11367 U.S.A. Jorbach@worldnet.att.net. |
Abstract:
I certainly welcome Catania's call for a rapprochement
between neuropsychology and what he calls a science of behavior. Of
course, I cannot speak for Lashley or Hebb.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 11(050) | CONVERGENCES AND DIVERGENCES OF THEORY IN LASHLEY AND HEBB
Reply to Murre & Raffone on Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Jack Orbach Department of Psychology Queens College Flushing, NY, 11367 U.S.A. Jorbach@worldnet.att.net. |
Abstract:
Comments on "neurons are not inert and static" and the
neuropsychological origins of the reverberatory circuit in the
cerebral cortex.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 11(119) | HEBB'S THEORY AND LASHLEY'S ANALOGY
Reply to Palm on Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Jack Orbach Department of Psychology Queens College Flushing, NY 11367 U.S.A. Jorbach@worldnet.att.net |
Abstract:
Lashley saw himself as offering no more than analogies,
not theories, in his quest for the neural mechanism of the
reduplicated engram in the cerebral cortex.
Keywords: cell assembly, central autonomous process, engram, equipotentiality, Hebb, Hebbian learning, Lashley, localization, memory trace, nativism, reverberatory circuit, Vanuxem Lectures |
| 12(026) | FOUNDERS OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGY - WHO IS IGNORED?
Book Review of Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Moshe Abeles Dept. of Physiology, and The Interdisciplinary Center for Neural Computations The Hebrew University Jerusalem, Israel. Abeles@vms.huji.ac.il |
Abstract:
The book has two parts. Part I deals with the personal
relations between Lashley and Hebb, with Lashley's refusal to take
part in Hebb's book, with issues of priority on ideas like
reverberations, cell assemblies and modifiable synapses. This part
of the book attempts to explain why is it that so much credit is
given to Hebb and too little to Lashley. Part II is a collection of
papers of Lashley some of which were not published anywhere else.
Part I will be most important for those interested in history and
sociology of science and of Neuropsychology in particular. Part II
is a treasure for anybody interested in mechanisms for higher brain
functions.
Keywords: Neuropsychology, history of science, cell assembly, reverberation, modifiable synapses. |
| 13(021) | FOUNDERS OF EXPERIMENTAL NEUROPSYCHOLOGY: LASHLEY PRECEDED HEBB
Reply to Abeles on Orbach on Lashley-Hebb Jack Orbach Department of Psychology Queens College Flushing, NY, 11367 U.S.A. jorbach@worldnet.att.net |
Abstract:
Who is the founder of twentieth century experimental
neuropsychology? Lashley is given the nod, though Hebb's
conception of an empirically assembled nerve net (the cell
assembly, 1949) became a seminal idea in theoretical
neuropsychology.
Keywords: Lashley, Hebb, neuropsychology, cell assembly, reverberatory circuit, history of neuropsychology, Lashley's lesson, Hebb's rule. |