Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Autonomic Nervous System

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the part of the peripheral nervous system that regulates involuntary bodily functions, including heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, and other processes that occur largely without conscious control. It is central to maintaining homeostasis, the body's internal ba…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 12 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 80× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 2694-1201 🗓 Reviewed July 2026

Overview

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is the part of the peripheral nervous system that regulates involuntary bodily functions, including heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestion, and other processes that occur largely without conscious control. It is central to maintaining homeostasis, the body's internal balance, by adjusting organ activity in response to internal and external conditions. The ANS is conventionally divided into the sympathetic branch, which mobilizes the body's resources in situations demanding arousal or stress, and the parasympathetic branch, which supports rest, recovery, and restorative functions; the vagus nerve is a major component of the latter. Autonomic activity can be assessed through measures such as heart rate variability, which is widely used as an indicator of autonomic balance. Research published in this journal touches on several aspects of autonomic function and its modulation. Contributions examine heart rate variability and the effects of meditative and relaxation practices, including singing-bowl meditation and conscious breathing techniques, on mood, stress, and autonomic regulation. Other work considers vagus-nerve approaches in neurological disease, the relationship between the nervous system and chronic illness, blood-pressure patterns such as dipper and non-dipper hypertension, and the interplay between psychological and somatic experience in pain. Recurring themes include the sympathetic-parasympathetic balance, heart rate variability as a marker, the role of the vagus nerve, and the influence of behavioral and mind-body interventions on autonomic and overall health.

Research published in this journal

12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

2020

Pain between Psyche and Soma in Uro-Andrology

Pruneti CarloCorresponding author
Dept. of Medicine and Surgery, Clinical Psychology, Clinical Psychophysiology and Clinical Neuropsychology Labs., University of Parma, Italy.
Exact topic International Journal of Pain Management Cited by 2 doi:10.14302/issn.2688-5328.ijp-20-3386

How this research is being cited

The 12 articles above have been cited 80 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Autonomic Nervous System, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in Spine and Neuroscience (ISSN 2694-1201).

Journal editorial board
Barbara Poletti · Italy Ian James Martins · Australia Domenico Chirchiglia · Italy

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.