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Hypothalamus: Central Regulator of the Autonomic Nervous System
Author(s) -
Nolte John
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.20.4.a4-a
Subject(s) - neuroscience , brainstem , hypothalamus , spinal cord , amygdala , insular cortex , biology , parabrachial nucleus , reflex , limbic system , central nervous system , sensory system , autonomic nervous system , anatomy , endocrinology , heart rate , blood pressure
Autonomic motor neurons, like somatic motor neurons, are controlled both by reflex connections and by descending projections from hierarchically organized CNS structures. The hypothalamus is a nodal point in this hierarchy. It receives a wide array of sensory inputs relevant to homeostatic needs. Some are delivered by hypothalamic neurons directly sensitive to temperature, osmolality, and other parameters; others arrive from brainstem nuclei, prominently including the nucleus of the solitary tract and the parabrachial nuclei, and still others from the spinal cord. The hypothalamus then integrates this information with inputs from limbic structures such as the amygdala and insular and orbitofrontal cortex, finally producing output signals that descend to the brainstem and spinal cord, reaching autonomic pattern generators and preganglionic autonomic neurons.