The Dominant as a Factor of Behavior (English Translation of the 1927 Classic)

The seminal work by Academician Alexei A. Ukhtomsky, "The Dominant as a Factor of Behavior" (1927), provides a foundational analysis of the dominant principle as an organizing mechanism of higher nervous activity, brain integration, and goal-directed behavior. Moving beyond rigid reflex reductionism and the mechanistic rule of "least resistance," Ukhtomsky defines the dominant as a temporary constellation of excitation (a dynamic organ of behavior) capable of summing incoming stimuli, conjugating reciprocal inhibition across competing neural centers, and polarizing systemic responses along a unified functional vector. Within the framework of central nervous system physiology, clinical psychopathology, and the Buteyko breathing method (VLGD), this paper provides fundamental insights: Mechanism of Psychosomatic Fixations and Rigid Constellations: Demonstrates how a persistent focus of excitation utilizes non-specific external and internal stimuli to feed its own activity while conjugately inhibiting alternative pathways. Physiological Basis of Panic Attacks and Phobias: Explains the dominant’s "lurking" (sensitizing) property, where subcortical hyperexcitability directs unrelated sensory inputs directly into active anxiety and fear-driven behavioral vectors. Depressive Constellations and Cognitive Narrowing: Clarifies how sustained reciprocal inhibition suppresses sensory receptivity to objective reality, trapping the central nervous system within a monotonic, self-reinforcing pathological loop. Physiological Inertia and Chain Reflexes: Details how visceral, sensory, and humoral feedbacks sustain once-initiated functional patterns, preventing spontaneous recovery without a deliberate shift in neural excitability. Neurogenic Foundation of Chronic Hyperventilation: Serves as the theoretical groundwork for understanding chronic hyperventilation as a stabilized dominant pattern within respiratory and autonomic centers, sustained through parabiotic mechanisms. Principles of Dominant Transformation and Inhibition: Substantiates the necessity of introducing a purposeful competing focus of activation (conscious volition, attention shifting, and physiological discipline) to extinguish rigid somatic and behavioral patterns via Vvedensky’s pessimum and reciprocal resetting.