The role of scientists of the S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy in the formation of Russian psychophysiology and professional psychophysiological selection

The prerequisite for the development of Russian psychophysiology was the need to regulate the activities of military personnel related to the specifics of their work.

The purpose is to highlight the formation and development of psychophysiology and professional psychophysiological selection in Russia, reflecting the role of scientists at the S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy in this process.

Materials and methods. General scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization), and special historical (historical-genetic, historical-systemic) methods are used.

Results. The work of scientists from the Kirov Military Medical Academy made a decisive contribution to the development of psychophysiology in our country. In the early 1860s, I.M. Sechenov laid the theoretical foundation for psychophysiology in medicine. V.M. Bekhterev opened and headed the clinic of nervous diseases with Russia’s first Department of surgical neuropathology, managed a psychological laboratory. Pavlov’s teaching on conditioned reflexes and types of higher nervous activity was a milestone in the development of psychophysiology. L.A. Orbeli emphasized the close relationship between physiological and psychophysiological research, conducted laboratory and field studies of the activities in divers, pilots, parachutists, and other military specialists. In 1947, the Department of Experimental Psychology headed by K.K. Platonov was established at the Institute of Aviation Medicine, and in 1964, psychological selection of candidates for pilots was introduced, and psychophysiological laboratories were established. Since that time, great attention has been paid to the problems of psychophysiology at the S.M. Kirov Military Medical Academy, and G.I. Gurvich, V.I. Kopanev, V.I. Medvedev, A.A. Bochenkov, and others have worked on them. In 1997, the Department of Military Psychophysiology was established at the Military Medical Academy under the leadership of V.N. Sysoev.

Conclusion. The achievements of psychophysiology are widely used in clinical practice and occupational medicine. It is necessary to develop methods of psychophysiological selection of specialists in dangerous professions, psychophysiological training aimed at preserving their health and improving the reliability and safety of professional activities, the creation and implementation in practice of methods for monitoring the functional state and its correction.

Contribution of the authors:
Karpenko I.V. — the concept and design of the study, writing the text;
Kosachev V.E. — collecting and processing materials, writing text;
Krylov N.N., Batoev S.D. — collection and processing of materials;
Starostina Yu.V. — collection and processing of information.
All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.

Acknowledgment. The study had no sponsorship.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: November 13, 2023 / Accepted: March 19, 2024 / Published: April 30, 2025

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