The Life of Donald Olding Hebb and Development of Neuropsychological Theory

This study examines the emergence of The Organization of Behavior (1949) and the neuropsychological theory of Donald O. Hebb—a landmark contribution to the history of neuroscience and the psychology of learning—in parallel with his biography and academic development. The article evaluates Hebb's academic career, shaped across Dalhousie, McGill, Chicago, Harvard, Queen's, and Yerkes, alongside the intellectual influences of scientists such as Lashley, Köhler, Penfield, and Lorente de Nó. It investigates how Hebb's neuropsychological theory, grounded in the postulates of cell assemblies and phase sequences, took form through experimental work aimed at explaining the neurological and physiological bases of learning, through theoretical inquiry, and through the interplay of different scientific traditions. Emphasis is placed on Hebb's account of learning as a dynamic process shaped by the interaction of hereditary and environmental factors, and on his integrative framework bridging behaviorist reductionism and cognitive approaches. The influence of the Hebbian synapse concept on contemporary research in long-term potentiation (LTP), spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP), neuroplasticity, and neurocomputational modeling is also addressed. In the conclusion, Hebb's neuropsychological theory is assessed as a significant theoretical development offering a biologically grounded account of the mind–body problem.