Visceral functions of the nervous system.

Abstract

The visceral functions of the nervous system are so intimately related to the somatic and higher functions of the nervous system that the selection of papers for an annual review is quite difficult. For example, acetylcholine acts at central, somatic, and visceral neuroeffector junctions and on struc­ tures having no nerves. Furthermore, acetylcholine affects the heart and pe­ ripheral circulation and is involved in the functioning of visceral receptors. Where, then, shall the studies on the action, formation, and destruction of this ubiquitous agent be considered? Some are reviewed here. A new drug is introduced to control hypertension but soon ends up being used primarily in psychiatry. Does this drug affect the visceral functions of the nervous sys­ tem? Should papers concerning its central effects be reviewed here? The an­ swer in this case has been, in general, no. The follo wing, therefore, is a short review of some of the literature on some of the visceral functions of the nervous system. Posterior pit uitary.- Sir Henry Dale (1), in the Banting Memorial Lec­ ture, 1954, informally reviewed six decades of study of the posterior lobe of the pituitary. In describing the neural control of hormone production Dale draws an analogy between the hypothalamicohyp ophyseal system and the better defined neurohumoral transmitter functions of the motor nervous system. He cautions, however, against regarding this analogy as completely true. Ethanol, in the form of 120 ml. whiskey administered orally, increased urine output and free water clearance, and decreased the sodium, potassium, and chloride excretion in normal males [Rubini, Kleeman & Lamdin (2)]. The authors believe these results substantiate the idea that ethanol inhibits the supraopticohypop hyseal