beginnerneuropsychologyhistorypioneer

Donald Hebb

Pioneered the concept that neural connections strengthen through use — neurons that fire together, wire together. This became the foundation of modern learning theory.

Donald Hebb's 1949 monograph 'The Organization of Behavior' proposed that repeated co-activation of neurons strengthens their connections — neurons that fire together, wire together. This Hebbian learning rule became the foundation of synaptic plasticity research, computational neuroscience, and artificial neural networks. Hebb also introduced cell assemblies and phase sequences as mechanisms for thought and memory.

“Neurons that fire together, wire together.”

1904 — 1985 · Canadian