In his most notable experiment, Pavlov used a metronome or buzzer to help a dog associate the sound with food. These experiments led him to formulate the laws of conditioned reflex. Pavlov studied secretion and digestion with normal, un-anesthetized dogs. Pavlov's Psychology Of Classical Conditioning

Pavlov published the results of this work in his book, 'Lectures on the Work of the Digestive Glands.' This experiment preserved the vagal nerve supply and allowed them to isolate the stomach from ingested foods so they could study the gastrointestinal secretions in a normal animal over its lifespan. Working in tandem with Heidenhain, the pair created a miniature pouch which served as an external stomach. He insisted that researchers use data that could be explained, verified, analyzed, and repeated.įrom 1890-1900, Pavlov spent most of his time in the study of secretions and digestion. Throughout his career in research, Pavlov insisted that students ground their results in science. Standing firm in his resolve over the truth, he resigned hastily from his position. Pavlov took personal offense to the move, reminding the officials that he too, was a son of a priest. In 1924, the Russian government announced that it would be expelling all students who were sons of priests at the Imperial Medical Academy. In his work there, he founded the Institute of Experimental Medicine where he developed precise surgical procedures for animals with attention to postoperative care and continuing maintenance of their health. Pavlov was elevated to the position of professor of physiology of the Imperial Medical Academy, which was ranked as one of the best educational institutions in the Russian Empire. In another experiment, Pavlov dissected cardiac nerves and stimulated the severed ends to show the effect of the nerves on the strength of the heartbeat. Using live, awake animals would be considered inhumane in today's laboratories and Psychology Today explains why there are rules in place to prevent this today. Using this procedure, he was able to test and record the effects of various stimuli on the dog's blood pressure. Pavlov became a highly skilled surgeon, so much so, that he successfully placed a catheter into the dog's femoral artery without using anesthesia and nearly without pain. He furthered his research in cardiac physiology and the regulation of blood pressure. While he proclaimed to be an atheist and a scientific agnostic, he admitted that true religion had some benefit and strongly admired his wife's devout faith.Īs a student of Carl Ludwig, Pavlov conducted his first independent research on the physiology of the circulatory system. Pavlov pursued his truth even in the face of fierce opposition. He was highly punctual and expected others to be as well, regardless of the political unrest in the country. Pavlov was a complicated man who was characterized by others as volatile, angry, and difficult. There, he studied under Carl Ludwig, a cardiovascular physiologist and Rudolf Heidenhain, a gastrointestinal physiologist. Petersburg to study chemistry and physiology. In 1870, he abandoned his faith and gained admittance to the University of St. Pavlov later went to a theological seminary where the teachers were dedicated to their craft.

After sustaining injuries from falling off a concrete wall and taking four years to heal, he attended a church school. While Pavlov ultimately declared himself to be an atheist, he attributed much of his success to Sara, who was very religious. Shortly after, Sara birthed four more children with Pavlov. The couple was poverty-stricken and at times lived apart or with other families as necessary for housing. He'd met Sara several years earlier when she was a student at the Pedagogical Institute. He finally married in 1881, at the age of 41, to SeraphimaVasilievnaKarchevskaya, who was better known as Sara. Pavlov spent much of his adult life in school. Pavlov's father was a Russian Orthodox priest and raised him and his ten younger siblings according to Christian teachings. His grandfather was a sexton, which was a person who was employed by the church to care for and maintain the church building and its grounds, including the cemetery. Pavlov hailed from a highly religious family. He was the very first Russian Nobel laureate. He was rewarded handsomely for his work when, in 1904, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his research on digestive secretions. Pavlov mastered his philosophy by proving that animals could be conditioned to respond to various stimuli.

He was a Russian physiologist who is famous for developing the concept of a conditioned reflex. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov was born in 1840 in Ryazan, in central Russia.

Pavlov experiment