The Autonomic Nervous System in Health and Disease

Utilizing a homeostatic approach incorporating medical practice, teaching, and research, this interdisciplinary reference fully examines the function and dysfunction of the body's autonomic systems to treat and promote better understanding of a variety of neurocardiological disorders. Highlights the roles of catecholamines, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine in autonomic systems! Ideally suited for both clinical and research purposes, The Autonomic Nervous System in Health and Disease introduces a homeostat theory integrating cybernetic views of stress with principles of operation for effector systems documents historical breakthroughs defining neurocardiology as a discipline in medicine provides conceptual perspectives such as the homeostat theory of stress, defining characteristics of stress and distress, and the sources and meanings of plasma levels of catechols reviews the physiology of the autonomic nervous system, including the cranial and sacral divisions of parasympathetic system, the sympathetic nervous and the adrenomedullary hormonal systems, and the homeostatic roles of catecholamine functions surveys the interactions and responses of stress effector systems such as the pituitary-adrenocortical, the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone, endogenous opioid, and vasopressin systems, as well as the parasympathetic, sympathetic, and adrenomedullary systems presents a schema for evaluating patients with neurocardiological disorders discusses future trends in medical research and integrative medicine, including redirection of molecular genetics and integrative physiology to focus on mechanisms of adult health and disease and much more! Written by a single expert in the field to provide better cohesion on the subject, and supplemented with over 1900 literature references and over 100 figures and tables, The Autonomic Nervous System in Health and Disease is an invaluable and comprehensive resource for clinical neurologists and neurocardiologists, neuroscientists, physiatrists, and neurochemists; cardiologists and internists; physiologists, biochemists, endocrinologists, and pharmacologists; psychiatrists and psychologists; medical house officers, residents, and interns; and medical and graduate school students in these disciplines.