How Does the Brain Control the Autonomic Nervous System?
Learn how the forebrain, hypothalamus, brainstem, spinal cord, and visceral feedback coordinate sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric functions.
Learn how the forebrain, hypothalamus, brainstem, spinal cord, and visceral feedback coordinate sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric functions.
What Is the Parasympathetic Nervous System? The parasympathetic nervous system helps the body perform routine maintenance functions such as digesting food, slowing the heart, producing saliva, emptying the bladder, and adjusting the eyes for near vision. It is often described as the “rest and digest” system. This phrase is useful, but incomplete: the parasympathetic nervous…