Comparative physiology: integrative action of the nervous system

Abstract

This review considers the main trends, outstanding themes, and lines of exploitation of the past decade in a rapidly expanding, diversely radiating, and technically complex area. Emphasis will be upon the results of analysis of neurons and ganglia as organs of co-ordination, mainly of movements, and as organs of integration of sensory stimuli. Mechanisms of excitation of nerve, stimulation of sense organs, theories of conduction, and properties of neuron membranes are considered to be out of range in the direction of biophysics. The emphasis is upon accounts of behavior in terms of neuron activity; therefore, chemical, secretory, and growth mechanisms which may underlie the slower aspects of control by central nervous systems are not considered. These limitations are similar to those of a much larger review now in press (1). Effort has been concentrated on the invertebrates, because recent reviews on vertebrate material are available. There are the reviews on the physiology of synapses (2, 3), on general integrative action of the central nervous system in vertebrates (4), on cortex (5, 6, 7), on cerebellum (8), on vision (9), and a variety of important articles in the Handbook of Physiology (10). Also relevant are the as yet unpublished proceedings of R. W. Gerard's special meetings at the 1962 International Congress at Leiden. Accounts of nervous co-ordination in some groups of invertebrates, Crustacea (11, especially Vol. 2), and cephalopods (12) are available.