Abstract
The autonomic nervous system governs the body's multifaceted internal adaptation to diverse changes in the external environment, a role more complex than is accessible to the methods—and data scales—hitherto used to illuminate its operation. Here we apply generative graphical modelling to large-scale multimodal neuroimaging data encompassing normal and abnormal states to derive a comprehensive hierarchical representation of the autonomic brain. We demonstrate that whereas conventional structural and functional maps identify regions jointly modulated by parasympathetic and sympathetic systems, only graphical analysis discriminates between them, revealing the cardinal roles of the autonomic system to be mediated by high-level distributed interactions. We provide a novel representation of the autonomic system—a multidimensional, generative network—that renders its richness tractable within future models of its function in health and disease.
Highlights
The autonomic nervous system is a bi-directional brain-body interface, maintaining homeostasis by adapting the internal environment in response to the demands of the external
We sought to reveal the interplay between brain structure and function in the operation of the autonomic nervous system as reflected in heart rate variability, within a set of highly expressive statistical models
A complex array of distinctive characteristics was revealed within each domain, but the most striking differentiation between sympathetic and parasympathetic systems was observed at the network level, further amplified when these imaging domains were jointly modelled, yielding a comprehensive multimodal hierarchical model
Summary
The autonomic nervous system is a bi-directional brain-body interface, maintaining homeostasis by adapting the internal environment in response to the demands of the external. Multiple brain imaging studies have investigated the neural correlates of the autonomic nervous system. One characteristic (such as regional neural activity) may be investigated with one imaging modality (such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)), within a small healthy cohort, often of the same sex and/or within a single decade of life (Goswami, Frances, & Shoemaker, 2011; Nugent, Bain, Thayer, Sollers, & Drevets, 2011). A single dimensional approach to investigating the autonomic nervous system is blind to the interactions between distinct characteristics such as white matter architecture and grey matter concentrations, leaving in the dark aspects of physiology and pathology that primarily manifest in this way
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
