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                                        Reflex

   The next MST in functional terms becomes possible due to the structural MST of
   great importance: integration of more and more cells into big multicellular
   organisms. Integration is accompanied by specialization. In particular,
   specialized nerve cells emerge. They make up a complicated nerve net where one
   cell stimulates (irritates) another, and signals from receptors may pass a long
   and tortuous way through the network before the effector cells are stimulated and
   trigger bodily effects in the organism. We call the whole process a (complex)
   reflex. The development and perfection of biological nerve nets takes place,
   probably, by a series of metasystem transitions, but thinking in functional terms
   we can unite all them into one with the formula:

   reflex =control of cell irritation

   The final stimulation of effectors does not immediately follow irritation of a
   receptor, but is the result of the work of a complex network which controls
   irritation of millions of nerve cells. The control becomes hierarchical.

   If the preceding stage of evolution can be called the stage of hydra, the new
   stage can be characterized as the stage of ant. Reflexes and behavioral programs
   are hierarchical and complicated, but they are defined at birth and do not depend
   on individual experience.
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   [2]Copyright© 2003 Principia Cybernetica - [3]Referencing this page

   Author
   V. [4]Turchin,

   Date
   Apr 23, 2003 (modified)
   Sep 1991 (created)

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References

   1. LYNXIMGMAP:http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/REFLEX.html#PCP-header
   2. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/COPYR.html
   3. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/REFERPCP.html
   4. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/TURCHIN.html
   5. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/DEFAULT.html
   6. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MSTT.html
   7. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HISTEVOL.html
   8. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/COGNEVOL.html
   9. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/IRRIT.html
  10. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/LEARNING.html
  11. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MAKANNOT.html
  12. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/hypercard.acgi$annotform?

[USEMAP]
http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/REFLEX.html#PCP-header
   1. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/DEFAULT.html
   2. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HOWWEB.html
   3. http://pcp.lanl.gov/REFLEX.html
   4. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/REFLEX.html
   5. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SERVER.html
   6. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/hypercard.acgi$randomlink?searchstring=.html
   7. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/RECENT.html
   8. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/TOC.html#REFLEX
   9. http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/SEARCH.html