Sokolov Evgeniy Nikolaevich (September 23, 1920, Nizhny Novgorod — May 14, 2008, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian psychophysiologist, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, professor, and academician of the USSR Academy of Pedagogical Sciences and the Russian Academy of Education. He was the founder and head of the Department of Psychophysiology at the Faculty of Psychology of Lomonosov Moscow State University and one of the founders of Soviet psychophysiology. He was born in Nizhny Novgorod.[1]

Education and the Start of His Scientific Career

After the end of the Great Patriotic War, in which Sokolov served as a military interpreter, he completed an external degree at the Moscow Maurice Thorez Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages, majoring in German (1946). From 1946 to 1950 he did postgraduate study at the Institute of Philosophy of the USSR Academy of Sciences, defending a candidate's dissertation on the topic "Perception in the Light of I. P. Pavlov's Teaching" (the degree was awarded in 1951).[2] From 1951 he worked at Lomonosov Moscow State University. In 1960 he defended his doctoral dissertation, "Perception and the Conditioned Reflex," and in 1962 he became a professor in the Department of Psychology of the Faculty of Philosophy at Moscow State University.[1]

Scientific Work

From 1971 to 2001, Sokolov headed the Department of Psychophysiology at the Faculty of Psychology of Moscow State University.[2] His research strategy followed a "human — neuron — model" cycle: a phenomenon was studied at the macro level, then its neural mechanisms were analyzed in animals, and a mathematical model was created. His experimental work on perception formed the basis of the theory of the orienting reaction and the concept of the neuronal model of the stimulus (the monograph "Perception and the Conditioned Reflex," 1958). In his later work, Sokolov was among the first in world neurophysiology to apply methods of extracellular and intracellular recording of individual neurons, and he discovered the neural mechanism of anticipatory reflection (the monograph "Mechanisms of Memory," 1969).[3] In all, he published at least 12 monographs.[2]

In 1995, on Sokolov's initiative, an MRI Research Center was established at Moscow State University, opening new opportunities for Russian neuroscience.[1]

International Recognition and Awards

Sokolov was elected a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (1975), an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1976), of the Academy of Finland (1984), and of the International Organization of Psychophysiology (1980), and an academician of the International Academy of Informatization (1993). In 1974 he was a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[1]

In 1984 he was awarded the I. P. Pavlov Gold Medal for his contribution to the theory of reflex mechanisms of the brain. In 1988 the American Psychophysiological Association presented him with a special diploma "For Outstanding Contribution to Psychophysiology." In 1992 he became a laureate of the M. V. Lomonosov Prize established by Moscow State University. In 1998 the International Psychophysiological Association awarded him its highest honor, the "Centennial Award."[3]

For his participation in the Great Patriotic War, Sokolov was awarded the Order of the Red Star (1944), the Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd class (1944), and the Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class (1985), as well as the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1970) and five government medals.[2]

Connection to Nizhny Novgorod

Yevgeny Nikolaevich Sokolov was born on September 23, 1920, in Nizhny Novgorod.[1] The available sources contain no information about his later life or scientific work connected with the city: most of his life was spent in Moscow, where he died on May 14, 2008; he is buried at the Khovanskoye Cemetery.[2]

Sources

  1. psy-msu.ru — Sokolov Yevgeny Nikolaevich. Psychologist of the Faculty of Psychology, Moscow State University
  2. names52.ru — Sokolov Yevgeny Nikolaevich
  3. psyjournals.ru — Sokolov Yevgeny Nikolaevich — Biography