Central autonomic circuits in the brain and spinal cord are essential to vertebrate life: they control all basic bodily functions, including blood pressure, body temperature regulation, digestion, and reproduction.

Edited by two experts in the field, Ida Llewellyn-Smith and Anthony Verberne, and extensively illustrated, the second edition of presents the extraordinary advances that have been made over the last 20 years in the understanding of how the central nervous system controls autonomic functions.

Written in a clear and readable manner by an international collection of neuroscientists and physiologists, and nine chapters describe central autonomic circuits from the cerebral cortex to the periphery. Eight more chapters address specific bodily functions and their control by central autonomic circuits. Two additional chapters discuss cardio-respiratory integration and regulation of autonomic function by visceral and somatic afferents. All of the chapters are up-to-date and cover topics such as the central autonomic regulation of airways, gastrointestinal function, energy homeostasis, body temperature, and sexual function, reflecting the latest research.

One of the only texts to provide the whole story of how the brain controls basic bodily functions that are critical for life, will be essential reading for graduate students and researchers in neuroscience, anatomy, pharmacology and physiology as well as a valuable reference work for established workers in the field.