Hebb's learning rule

Hebb stated that the connection between neurons that fire together grows stronger.

Why it matters

A changeable connection strength became the basis for learning in neural network models.

Hebb described a biological hypothesis; its computational forms came later.

Event date

1949

Timeline date

Event date

Verification

Sources gathered automatically · September 17, 2026

Lines

ID

evt-0055

primary The Organization of Behavior
John Wiley & Sons · Published 1949
secondary Donald O. Hebb and the Organization of Behavior: 17 years in the writing
Molecular Brain (PubMed Central) · Published 2020
archive The organization of behavior: a neuropsychological theory (catalogue record)
CiNii Books, National Institute of Informatics, Japan · Published 1949

Related McCulloch and Pitts neuron model 1943
Two early approaches to describing a neuron: a logic element and a changeable connection strength.

Builds on SNARC 1951links to this record
The machine strengthens a connection on success, a hardware reading of Hebb's idea.
- Stochastic Neural Analog Reinforcement Calculator · Wikipedia
Builds on The first neural network simulation 1954links to this record
The simulation tests Hebb's connection-strengthening rule on a machine.
- Simulation of self-organizing systems by digital computer · IRE Transactions on Information Theory
Builds on Hopfield networks 1982links to this record
The network's weights are set by a rule that strengthens connections between units active together.
- Neural networks and physical systems with emergent collective computational abilities · PNAS

An explainer video, not a source for this record.