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A PERSONAL VIEW

Is there anything "autonomous" in the nervous system?

Fundação Faculdade Federal de Ciências Médicas, Department of Physiological Sciences (Physiology and Biophysics), and Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Postgraduation in Neuroscience, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: A. A. Rasia-Filho, Fundação Faculdade Federal de Ciências Médicas, Fisiologia, R. Sarmento Leite 245, Porto Alegre RS 90050-170, Brazil (e-mail: rasiafilho{at}pesquisador.cmpq.br)

Abstract

The terms "autonomous" or "vegetative" are currently used to identify one part of the nervous system composed of sympathetic, parasympathetic, and gastrointestinal divisions. However, the concepts that are under the literal meaning of these words can lead to misconceptions about the actual nervous organization. Some clear-cut examples indicate that no element shows "autonomy" in an integrated body. Nor are they solely "passive" or generated "without mental elaboration." In addition, to be "not consciously controlled" is not a unique attribute of these components. Another term that could be proposed is "homeostatic nervous system" for providing conditions to the execution of behaviors and maintenance of the internal milieu within normal ranges. But, not all homeostatic conditions are under the direct influence of these groups of neurons, and some situations clearly impose different ranges for some variables that are adaptative (or hazardous) in the tentative of successfully coping with challenging situations. Finally, the name "nervous system for visceral control" emerges as another possibility. Unfortunately, it is not only "viscera" that represent end targets for this specific innervation. Therefore, it is commented that no quite adequate term for the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and gastrointestinal divisions has already been coined. The basic condition for a new term is that it should clearly imply the whole integrated and collaborative functions that the components have in an indivisible organism, including the neuroendocrine, immunological, and respiratory systems. Until that, we can call these parts simply by their own names and avoid terms that are more "convenient" than appropriate.

Key words: sympathetic; parasympathetic; vegetative; homeostasis; visceral