Reflections on Organisms: Examples from the Neurobiology of Insect Rhythmic Movements

Consideration of organisms is necessary for neurobiologistsinterested in the neural bases of behavior, because a behavioralact performed by an intact animal defines the problem to besolved and also constitutes the context in which the nervoussystem operates. In addition, observations of behaving organismscan introduce new preparations for study of general questions.Examples are given from rhythmic gill movements of Corydaluscornutus, insect flight, and development of the moth flightmotor. In a concluding section, questions are raised about possiblephilosophical and judgmental influences on the current tensionsbetween holistic approaches expressed in organismic biologyand reductionist approaches expressed in biotechnology.