Nicolas Bernstein and Pyotr Anokhin: pioneers of modern psychophysiology

The works of N.A. Bernstein on the construction of daily life movements in humans and those of P.K. Anokhin on the integrative nature of the nervous system in animals led to new descriptions of the brain functioning and behaviour, which contributed to the development of neuropsychology by A.R. Luria. Their work, which was considered as conflicting with Pavlov's reflex theory, which was sanctioned by the Soviet authorities, were for a long time disregarded in the USSR, and were unrecognised in the West due to the lack of English translations which were only produced much later. Bernstein described activity as being directed toward the resolution of a specific motor problem, programmed and guided by a copy of the desired solution constructed by the brain (a model of the future), and implemented and regulated according to the probability theory through sensory corrections carried out at different levels in the brain. Anokhin's systemic theory of brain functioning was defined by a complex integrative process with adaptive value, carried out by a system of permanent interactions between a cortical centre and the peripheric motor apparatus, regulated by reverse afferences from the periphery. These descriptions appear to be close to modern conceptions of brain functioning and continue to be of interest in the study of the relationships between psychic activity and brain function.