ABSTRACT
In previous chapters we have considered how neurons functioning according to the rest principle could account for various “mechanical” activities. Sharpening of contrast by lateral inhibition and organization of response changes are mechanical actions readily accomplished by electrical circuitry in television sets and servomechanisms. Classical conditioning is also easy to accept as a mechanical activity not requiring cognition: Peripheral reflexes can be conditioned even in humans with completely severed spinal columns (Ince, Bracker, & Alba, 1978).
