p The psyche as a special form of reflecting reality emerges together with the central nervous system, which develops the ability to evolve conditioned reflexes. The emergence of the psyche gives rise to a signal, image reflection of reality. The psychic is the form of an image of the phenomena affecting an organism, arising in the brain due to the development of a conditioned reflex. A specific feature of a conditioned reflex is the reflection of phenomena of the outside world that are of themselves unimportant to the organism, but prove to be connected with phenomena vital for it. When a conditioned reflex is developed, the latter phenomena play the role of signals of other phenomena that are connected with the vital activities of the organism and are biologically important for it. Their impact on the organism is equivalent to the impact of the biologically important phenomena, of which they are signals. At the moment of this impact, images of the corresponding biologically important phenomena emerge 122 on the basis of temporal connections formed in the brain.

p For instance, the sound of a bell ringing has of itself no importance for a dog. He does not react to it. If, however, the bell rings and food appears simultaneously, the dog will start reacting to it as he reacts to the appearance of food-salivation will start. By using the temporal connection formed in his brain between the nidi of excitation caused by the impact of the bell ringing and food, the dog will reflect the dependence established between the latter, where the bell ringing is playing the role of the signal portending the appearance of food. This is why the dog reacts by secreting saliva.

Thus, a conditioned reflex presupposes the establishment of a connection with a biologically important phenomenon at the moment the signal is perceived. Being an essential aspect or moment of a conditioned reflex, which is a physiological phenomenon, the psychic is therefore closely linked with the physiological-it emerges and exists on the basis of the latter. The psychic is the result of the physiological activity of the brain, which is the brain’s response to the impact on the organism of various phenomena of the outside world. The psychic develops on the basis of certain physiological connections formed in the brain and is secondary to these connections and the brain, i.e. it depends on them,