Editorial: Integrity of the Autonomic Nervous System in Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders

摘要

The autonomic nervous system is an essential neural control network of the human body thatmaintains physiologic balance. It regulates function of vital systems such as the cardiovascularsystem, the gastrointestinal system, and the skin. Autonomic neuronal structures permeate andinnervate the entire human organism, managing its autonomic functions largely independent fromconsciousness and thereby securing its survival. Professor Phillip Low, a pioneer of autonomicneurology, has once referred to the autonomic nervous system as the “Cinderella of Medicine,”a field of science, which attracted distinct interest in the scientific community but was limited bya substantial lack of coherent knowledge (1). When Low and a handful of out-of-the-box-thinkingscientists such as Sir Roger Bannister from London, a famous neurologist and record-breakingmiddle-distanceathlete,aswellasDavidRobertsonfromNashville,adistinguishedneurologistandspace physiologist, first embarked on the endeavor to explore the autonomic nervous system in the1960s and 1970s, they could probably not foresee the future impact of their research. Nowadays,their observations provide a basis for diagnosis and treatment of highly prevalent and debilitatingdisorders, including metabolic disorders such as diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders such asParkinson’s disease.