Autonomic Nerves - authored by the same team that created Cranial Nerves - provides an easy-to-follow format designed to make learning about autonomic nerves easier. Teachers, students, and practitioners will find vibrant illustrations integrated with text. Presented in two parts, the first describes the structure and function of the autonomic nerves. The second part addresses autonomic control of individual organ systems in a problem-based learning format. Throughout the text, Autonomic Nerves describes afferent pathways, integrating structures and mechanisms, efferent pathways, and the autonomic effectors. Principles of autonomic neurotransmission are also discussed.
A conspicuous portion of the peripheral nervous system is part of the 'vegetative nervous system'; it includes all the neurons which innerv ate the viscera, salivary and lacrimal glands, the heart and blood vessels, all other smooth muscles of the body, notably the intrinsic muscles of the eye and the muscles of the hair. Only part of the system belongs to the peripheral nervous system: it has also its own nuclei and pathways in the central nervous system. The distinction between visceral and somatic functions is a very old one in our culture. With the development of neurology the notion of a widespread nervous control of body functions emerged. Winslow (1732) used the term nervi sympathici majores for those nerves, which he thought to carry about 'sympathies' and then co ordinate various viscera's functions. His was an anatomical break through, which obscured Willis' 'intercostal nerve' and Vesalius 'cranial nerve'. The notion was developed among others by John stone (1764) who arrived, with the aid of some very accurate anatomical observations, at the problem of the nervous influence on motion and sensitivity of viscera. By the end of the eighteenth century, it was clear, with Bichat (1800), that what he called 'sympa thetic nervous system' (and his pupil Reil, a few years later, 'vegeta tive nervous system ') controlled visceral functions (fa vie organique), whereas somatic functions (fa vie animafe) were under direct control from the brain and spinal cord.
Aging of the Autonomic Nervous System is the first book devoted to the aging of the autonomic nervous system. The book presents the most recent findings on topics such as general aspects of the autonomic nervous system, main neurotransmitter systems, age-dependent changes of neuroeffector mechanisms in target organs, and therapeutic perspectives. It also provides a comprehensive analysis of the possible consequences of these findings. Aging of the Autonomic Nervous System will be a useful volume for gerontologists and neuroscientists.
This open access book sets out the stress-system model for functional somatic symptoms in children and adolescents. The book begins by exploring the initial encounter between the paediatrician, child, and family, moves through the assessment process, including the formulation and the treatment contract, and then describes the various forms of treatment that are designed to settle the child’s dysregulated stress system. This approach both provides a new understanding of how such symptoms emerge – typically, through a history of recurrent or chronic stress, either physical or psychological – and points the way to effective assessment, management, and treatment that put the child (and family) back on the road to health and well-being.
This book for health care practitioners presents the functional importance of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in the physiological, behavioral, and psychological balance in humans. It clearly introduces Stephen W. Porges' polyvagal theory and presents applications to human health.Older and dualistic concepts of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems hold that they operate in complementary and opposing ways; here, the reader will discover a new system with three hierarchical levels arranged according to their functions for adaptation, survival, and homeostasis:?the dorsal vagal branch, which is the most ancient, is responsible for the primary parasympathetic functions;?the sympathetic system, which is in charge of energy mobilization, work, fight, or flight;?the ventral vagal branch, which appeared late in the evolution of mammals, and regulates the thoracic organs, head, and neck, which together with other cranial nerves, are responsible for the social engagement system.The polyvagal theory also serves as a central pillar around which a new explanation of human development is proposed, regrouping physiological, psychological, and spiritual dimensions, and shedding new light on psychosomatic phenomena.In addition to giving a clinical semiological presentation, the chapter on heart rate variability shows how it is possible to quantify the performance of the ventral branch of the vagus nerve and its interaction with the sympathetic system. Moreover, the innovative osteopathic techniques proposed in this book constitute a new approach for treating the vagus nerve and the ANS.Although this book was written by an osteopath, it will benefit all therapists of the body, mind, and spirit who search to deepen their comprehension of human functioning.
