Hebbian theory is a theory in
neuroscience that proposes an explanation for the adaptation of
neurons in the brain during the learning process. It describes a basic mechanism for
synaptic plasticity, where an increase in
synaptic efficacy arises from the presynaptic cell's repeated and persistent stimulation of the postsynaptic cell. Introduced by
Donald Hebb in his 1949 book
The Organization of Behavior, the theory is also called
Hebb's rule,
Hebb's postulate, and
cell assembly theory. Hebb states it as follows:
Let us assume that the persistence or repetition of a reverberatory activity (or "trace") tends to induce lasting cellular changes that add to its stability.… When an axon of cell A is near enough to excite a cell B and repeatedly or persistently takes part in firing it, some growth process or metabolic change takes place in one or both cells such that As efficiency, as one of the cells firing B, is increased.