Aneural Systems and Neurobiology: A Point of View

Abstract

It has become increasingly apparent in the last several years that invertebrate neural systems have much to offer in the attempt to understand complex mammalian systems (Wiersma, 1967). Two or three generations ago this might have been a trivial statement as neuroscientists of that bygone era often worked across the phylogenetic kingdom and were well aware of evolutionary continuity. Somehow in the twentieth century an intellectual cleavage between comparative and strictly mammalian neurobiology developed. Since this gap has recently begun to close, perhaps it is not unreasonable at this time to ask whether even an aneural system might not have important contributions to make in understanding more complex neural systems.