Biological Significance and Connection to Memory
Anticipatory reflection of reality is closely linked to memory, which is a universal property of all living systems. For an organism to anticipate events, it must be able to store information about past experiences. The mechanism of memory is fundamentally identical across living entities of various levels of biological organization and is inextricably linked to the functioning of the universal genetic apparatus.
Memory performs three key functions without which anticipatory reflection would be impossible:
- Fixation of molecular changes caused by a specific external stimulus.
- Long-term storage of the memory traces left behind.
- Retrieval of accumulated information at the appropriate moment.
Manifestations of memory and trace formation are most clearly observed upon repeated action of a stimulus. However, the organism is also capable of remembering single, strong exposures. This primarily applies to stimuli that provoke powerful emotional reactions. This ability to fix stimulus traces makes prediction possible and is closely related to the signaling value of conditioned stimuli (a concept discovered by I.P. Pavlov).
Molecular Mechanism: The Chemical Continuum
The essence of anticipatory reflection is that repeated environmental influences induce specific molecular changes within the organism. Each environmental impact leaves its specific "trace" in the organism. Over time, these initially isolated traces integrate into a unified system.
A key concept in understanding this mechanism is the chemical continuum. This is a continuous chain of closely interconnected chemical reactions that gradually forms in response to a stereotyped, constantly repeating sequence of external stimuli.
The algorithm for this mechanism is as follows:
- The very first external stimulus from a familiar sequence acts on the organism.
- Due to the already formed chemical continuum, the entire sequential chain of internal molecular changes is triggered rapidly and automatically.
- Result: Molecular changes inside the organism begin to outpace subsequent external stimuli. The internal environment prepares for an event even before it actually occurs.
Stages of Formation of Anticipatory Reflection
The development of this property occurs in a strictly sequential manner. Three main stages of formation are typically distinguished, demonstrating the transition from passive response to active forecasting.
Stage A: Primary Exposure Certain events occur sequentially in the external environment (let us designate them as stimuli I → II → III → IV). Each of these external events elicits its own isolated internal reaction in the organism (I causes process 1, II causes process 2, and so on). At this stage, internal connections between processes are completely absent. The organism's reaction strictly and passively follows the stimulus.
Stage B: Consolidation of Connections The condition for transition to this stage is repeated exposure. When the same sequence of external events (I–IV) repeats over and over, strong interconnections begin to form between the internal molecular processes (1, 2, 3, 4). A holistic "trace" of the entire reaction sequence physically forms within the organism.
Stage C: Anticipatory Reflection (Result) Formation of the system is complete. Now, only the first external stimulus (I) acts on the organism. In response, the entire chain of internal processes (1 → 2 → 3 → 4) is automatically triggered. The main characteristic of this stage: internal changes (2, 3, 4) occur before the onset of the corresponding external events (II, III, IV). The organism has prepared for future impacts in advance.
For medicine, this is of immense importance, as anticipatory reflection is a fundamental property of adaptation (and the basis of conditioned reflexes) that allows an organism to survive in a constantly changing environment.