Medical Dictionary
Main Entry:
Her·ing–Breu·er reflex Pronunciation:
'her-i[ng]-'broi-&r- Function:
noun : any of several reflexes that controlinflation and deflation of the lungs;
especially : reflex inhibition of inspiration triggered by pulmonary muscle spindles upon expansion of the lungs and mediated by the vagus nerve
Hering, Karl Ewald Konstantin (1834–1918), German physiologist and psychologist. Hering is known for his great influence on contemporary sense physiology and theevolution of modern psychology, especially Gestalt psychology. His early research was on binocular vision. From 1861 to 1864 he published a five-part study on visual space perception. In 1868 withJosef Breuer he discovered the reflex reaction that originates in the lungs and is mediated by the fibers of the vagus nerve and that is now known as the Hering-Breuer reflex. In a series of paperspublished between 1872 and 1875 he presented his theory of color vision. From that time onward, he devoted most of his career to studying color phenomena and devising new experiments and instrumentsfor demonstrating the validity of his theory.
Breuer, Josef (1842–1925), Austrian physician and physiologist. A major forerunner of psychoanalysis, Breuer is famous forrelieving the patient “Anna O.” of her hysteria by inducing her to recall, while under hypnosis, traumatic experiences of her early life. He reached the critical insight that neuroticsymptoms derive from unconscious processes and that the symptoms can disappear when the processes are made conscious. Sigmund Freud was an early colleague of Breuer, and in 1895 the two men wrote abook on hysteria in which Breuer's method of psychotherapy was described. In 1868 with Karl Hering he described the Hering-Breuer reflex.
