Main Entry: Bekh·te·rev's nucleus

Variant(s): or Bech·te·rew's nucleus \ˈbek-tə-ˌrefs-, -ˌrevz-\

Function: noun

: superior vestibular nucleus

Bekh·te·rev \ˈbyāḵ-tər-yəf\ , Vladimir Mikhailovich (1857–1927), Russian neuropathologist. A pioneer in clinical research on mental diseases, Bekhterev founded the psychoneurological institute in St. Petersburg. The author of more than 800 publications, Bekhterev published several original descriptions that include papers on ankylosing spondylitis in 1892 and on the superior vestibular nucleus (Bekhterev's nucleus) in 1908. In 1910 he published a major work, Objective Psychology, in which he applied the Pavlovian principles of the conditioned reflex to psychological problems. This study influenced the development of behaviorism in the United States