Anatomy & Physiology › Section M · Somatic and autonomic nervous systems › Topic M.6
Central control and drugs affecting the ANS
Autonomic reflexes do not run on their own: the hypothalamus, the amygdala and the brainstem tune them to your emotions and activities. Many drugs work by imitating or blocking the chemicals at autonomic synapses, so knowing the receptors lets you predict what they do.
In this topic
- Higher control of autonomic reflexes
- The hypothalamus
- The amygdala and emotion
- Brainstem centres
- Worked example: a sudden fright
- How drugs act on the ANS
- Nicotine: stimulating every ganglion
- Drugs at adrenergic receptors
- Drugs at cholinergic synapses
- Worked example: predicting drug effects
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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