While the autonomic nervous system, by definition, operates in a largely automatic (homeostatic) mode, there is no doubt that the brain can exert higher-order control. While considerable progress has been made in identifying cortical areas involved in such control in anaesthetized experimental animals, our understanding of how structures in the human brain participate in the awake state is poorer. Given that disturbances in the autonomic nervous system feature in many disease states, and that structural changes in the brain are known to occur in certain diseases involving the autonomic nervous system, it is important to understand the normal function of the brain in order to appreciate how changes in the brain, and changes in the autonomic nervous system, are manifested in disease. This research topic will provide a comprehensive set of reviews, and present the latest in original research, on the use of neuroimaging to study the roles of the brain in autonomic control. Submissions are invited that examine the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of human autonomic control, both in health and disease. Contributions can be of many different article types (Original Research, Methods, Hypothesis & Theory, etc.). For more information, please see http://www.frontiersin.org/about/AuthorGuidelines
While the autonomic nervous system, by definition, operates in a largely automatic (homeostatic) mode, there is no doubt that the brain can exert higher-order control. While considerable progress has been made in identifying cortical areas involved in such control in anaesthetized experimental animals, our understanding of how structures in the human brain participate in the awake state is poorer. Given that disturbances in the autonomic nervous system feature in many disease states, and that structural changes in the brain are known to occur in certain diseases involving the autonomic nervous system, it is important to understand the normal function of the brain in order to appreciate how changes in the brain, and changes in the autonomic nervous system, are manifested in disease. This research topic will provide a comprehensive set of reviews, and present the latest in original research, on the use of neuroimaging to study the roles of the brain in autonomic control. Submissions are invited that examine the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of human autonomic control, both in health and disease. Contributions can be of many different article types (Original Research, Methods, Hypothesis & Theory, etc.). For more information, please see http://www.frontiersin.org/about/AuthorGuidelines
