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The sympathetic nervous system arose in the earliest vertebrates

The sympathetic nervous system, which enables the fight-or-flight response, was thought to be present only in jawed vertebrates. Analysis of a jawless vertebrate suggests that this system might be a feature of all animals with a spine.
  1. Uwe Ernsberger

    1. Uwe Ernsberger is at the Institute for Clinical Neuroanatomy, Goethe University, 60590 Frankfurt, Germany.

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  2. Hermann Rohrer

    1. Hermann Rohrer is at the Institute for Clinical Neuroanatomy, Goethe University, 60590 Frankfurt, Germany.

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One of the key innovations that arose in vertebrates was the evolution of a branch of the nervous system called the sympathetic nervous system. This forms from cells produced by stem cells that originate in a structure called the neural crest. The sympathetic nervous system is associated with the fight-or-flight response and the neurotransmitter signalling molecules adrenaline and noradrenaline. Writing in Nature, Edens et al.1 report that this system is not found solely in jawed vertebrates, and that the basic building blocks and developmental regulators of a sympathetic nervous system are also present in the jawless vertebrate fish the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus).

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Nature 629, 46-48 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-01017-4

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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