Contributions from Donald O. Hebb and Robert C. Bolles
Specialized research in the brain sciences has increased dramatically in recent years. Many psychologists have contributed important foundations and findings in the brain sciences. There have been many important discoveries that offer links between brain science and learning. Donald O. Hebb and Robert C. Bolles have made significant contributions to the field of learning and cognition.
Donald Olding Hebb was a prominent Canadian psychologist. Hebb's work has been highly influential in the area of neuropsychology. His contributions included connections in cell assemblies, phase sequences, effects of environments on learning, and work dealing with the effects of short term and long term memory (Olson & Hergenhahn, 2013). He sought to understand how the function of neurons contributed to psychological processes such as learning. Hebb was instrumental in defining psychology as a biological science by identifying thought as the integrated activity of the brain (Brown, 2003). His views on learning described behavior and thought in terms of brain function, explaining cognitive processes in terms of connections between neuron assemblies. These ideas played a large part in his views on education and learning. His greatest achievement was to persuade psychologist that in order to understand the behavior of living organisms you must study the neural machinery responsible for that behavior (Pinel, 2009). Hebb proposed that neural structures called “cell assemblies” made up the basis of mental concepts. This cell assembly is the brain's thoughts or ideas. This cell assemblies work together to form phase sequences, which are streams of thoughts. Once these cell assemblies and phase sequences are formed, they can be activated by stimulation from the environment. The more stimulating the environment, the more