Pavlov's conceptualization of voluntary movements within the framework of the theory of higher nervous activity

Pavlov became interested in the nature of voluntary movements after receiving Konorski and Miller's letter in 1928 describing their experiments on conditioning of motor movements in dogs. Their paradigmatic experiment involved presenting an indifferent stimulus, followed by passive raising of the dog's leg and then reinforcement. If the same stimulus was provided during a number of trials, the animal lifted its corresponding leg. In 1928 Pavlov asked his students to condition motor movements in his laboratory. Although their findings were equivocal, Pavlov incorporated the so-called voluntary movements into his theory of higher nervous activity. Voluntary movements were responses to external environmental contingencies. On the cortical level, the motor analyzer's cells had both afferent and efferent functions. In Pavlov's view, the motor analyzer's cells established connections with the afferent cells of other sensory analyzers. Pavlov held that motor movements, as responses to external and internal environments, give humans the illusion of voluntary behavior.