( 404 ) 
Art. XXXVI . — Proceedings the Royal Society qf Edin^ 
continued from last Number, p. 195. 
Feh, 15. 1819. T?he continuation of a paper by Dr William 
Alison was read, entitled, Observations on some late Inqui- 
ries into the Physiology of the Nervous System, particularly 
into its Connection with Muscular Motion, Secretion, and 
Animal Heat.” 
The leading doctrine of this paper is, that there is no proof 
in the writings of physiologists, of the nervous system being 
essentially concerned in any of those functions of the living 
body, which are performed without the intervention or con- 
sciousness of the mind, — that is, in any of the functions which 
constitute the organic life of Bichat and others ; that the direct 
dependence of any of these functions, or any agency of the 
nervous system is, in the present state of our knowledge, an 
hypothesis, unsupported by direct facts, and contradicted by 
much probable evidence; and that the office of the nervous 
system, in the natural and healthy state, may be said to be 
merely to minister to the wants of the mind, and maintain the 
connection between mind and body. 
The author arrives at this conclusion, from an examination 
of the different classes of facts, which have been at different 
limes ascertained by physiologists, in regard to the connection 
of changes in the nervous system, with muscular motion, secre- 
tion, and animal heat. In regard to the first of these, it ap- 
pears clearly, that two kinds of effect upon muscles have been 
observed to result from changes in the nervous system. 1. That 
the contractions of many muscles may be directly excited by 
such changes ; and, 2. That the irritability (or tendency to con- 
traction in certain given circumstances) of all muscles, may be 
variously modified by such changes. The first kind of agency 
appears to be exerted solely on the voluntary, the last chiefly 
on the involuntary muscles. But it likewise appears, from all 
the facts hitherto ascertained on the subject, that the irritabili- 
ty of muscular fibres in the living body, is inherent in them- 
selves, and is in no case directly dependent on any agency of 
nerves. So far there is no material difference between the doc- 
