The constancy of conditioned respiratory reflexes and its use as an index of the cortical dynamics in man

Summary

The author investigated the constancy of manifestation of the three types of conditioned respiratory reflexes elaborated in response to stimuli addressed to the first and second signalling systems in healthy adult athletes, i.e., to ammonia vapor, to speech reinforcement and to mental reproduction of muscular work. The general percentage of conditioned reflex manifestation was determined in relation to the total number of positive signals. Inconstancy of conditioned reflex manifestation was regarded as a physiological phenomenon reflecting the dynamics of the between the external and internal environment of the subject to inhibition, evidently originating from the second signalling system. Inhibition of conditioned reflexes is noted during the first test on the day of experiment, lasting for a longer or shorter period in the course of the investigation; this is assessed as a decreased ability of the excitation process to be concentrated in time.