Central autonomic circuits in the brain and spinal cord are essential to vertebrate life. They control all basic bodily functions, including blood pressure, body temperature regulation, digestion, and reproduction. This book presents the extraordinary advances that have been made over the last twenty years in the understanding of how our central nervous system controls autonomic function. The first nine chapters describe central autonomic circuits from the cerebral cortex to the periphery. Eight additional chapters address specific bodily functions and their control by central autonomic circui ... More

Central autonomic circuits in the brain and spinal cord are essential to vertebrate life. They control all basic bodily functions, including blood pressure, body temperature regulation, digestion, and reproduction. This book presents the extraordinary advances that have been made over the last twenty years in the understanding of how our central nervous system controls autonomic function. The first nine chapters describe central autonomic circuits from the cerebral cortex to the periphery. Eight additional chapters address specific bodily functions and their control by central autonomic circuits. Two additional chapters discuss cardio-respiratory integration and regulation of autonomic function by visceral and somatic afferents. All of the chapters are up-to-date and cover topics such as the central autonomic regulation of airways, gastrointestinal function, energy homeostasis, body temperature, and sexual function, reflecting the latest research.