Primer on the Autonomic Nervous System

Dr. Biaggioni has almost 40 years’ experience investigating the interaction between neural (autonomic) metabolic (renin- angiotensin, insulin) and local (adenosine, nitric oxide) factors involved in cardiovascular regulation. He has had continued NIH funding that has resulted in over 330 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Biaggioni directs the Vanderbilt Autonomic Dysfunction Center, a multidisciplinary program dedicated to applying clinical research to development novel treatment strategies. His group has discovered 4 novel congenital autonomic disorders and has participated in the development of new medications, have repurposed many approved drugs, and developed novel devices. Dr. Kirsteen Browning is a Professor of Neural and Behavioral Science at Penn State University. She is also Associate Director of the MD/PhD Medical Scientist Training Program. Her research interest is in the regulation of gastrointestinal vagal neurocircuits and vagally mediated peripheral sensation and signaling. Dr. Gregory Fink is a Professor in Pharmacology and Toxicology at Michigan State University. His research continues to concern central and peripheral mechanisms of blood pressure regulation in hypertension, but other important interests are the renin-angiotensin system, endothelin and the role of venous function and body fluid volume distribution in control of blood pressure. Fink has served on the executive committee and as treasurer for the Inter-American Society of Hypertension, as chairman of the National Institutes of Health, or NIH , Experimental Cardiovascular Sciences Study Section and he just recently finished a two-year term as chair of the American Heart Association Council on Hypertension. Jens Jordan is Head of the Institute of Aerospace Medicine at the German Aerospace Center and the University of Cologne in Germany. Previously, he directed the Institute for Clinical pharmacology at Hannover Medical School. His group pursues cardiovascular control mechanisms and molecular mechanisms responsible for premature cardiovascular and metabolic disease in human beings. The overall goal is to find ways of extending the healthy lifespan on earth and in space. Dr. Phillip Low is a Neurologist at the Mayo Clinic focusing on Autonomic Disorders. Phillip A. Low, M.D. has a long-standing research focus on clinical and laboratory research into the cause and treatment of autonomic disorders. Efforts have been concentrated on following major areas: multiple system atrophy; development of novel biomarkers and tests and instruments to study autonomic disorders; diagnosis and treatment of autonomic neuropathies; conducting randomized clinical trials. Dr. Low's research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for over the past 30 years. Professor Paton is the Director of Manaaki Manawa – the Centre for Heart Research in Auckland. Through modulation of the autonomic nervous system, his research aims to inform new potential ways to control blood pressure in the condition of hypertension and to alleviate heart failure and sleep apnoea. He uses an inter-disciplinary approach involving mathematical modelling, pre-clinical and first-in-human studies incorporating novel drugs and device based therapeutic strategies.

I. Introduction II. Biochemical and Pharmacological Mechanisms III. Autonomic Physiology IV. Autonomic Response to Environmental Challenges V. Pathophysiological Mechanisms VI. Evaluation of Autonomic Function VII. Cardiovascular Disorders VIII. Congenital Autonomic Disorders IX. Autonomic Synucleinopathies X. Peripheral Autonomic Disorders XI. Autonomic Syndromes XII. Special Clinical Conditions XIII. Management of Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension XIV. Autonomic Neuromodulation as a Treatment Strategy XV. Novel Approaches in Autonomic Neuroscience