Autonomic pharmacology

The autonomic nervous system (ANS), sometimes called the visceral nervous system and formerly the vegetative nervous system, is a division of the nervous system that operates internal organs, smooth muscle and glands. The autonomic nervous system is a control system that acts largely unconsciously and regulates bodily functions, such as the heart rate, its force of contraction, digestion, respiratory rate, pupillary response, urination, and sexual arousal. The fight-or-flight response, also known as the acute stress response, is set into action by the autonomic nervous system.
The autonomic nervous system is regulated by integrated reflexes through the brainstem to the spinal cord and organs. These functions include control of respiration, cardiac regulation, vasomotor activity, and certain reflex actions such as coughing, sneezing, swallowing and vomiting. Those are then subdivided into other areas and are also linked to autonomic subsystems and the peripheral nervous system. The hypothalamus, just above the brain stem, acts as an integrator for autonomic functions, receiving autonomic regulatory input from the limbic system.
Although conflicting reports about its subdivisions exist in the literature, the autonomic nervous system has historically been considered a purely motor system, and has been divided into three branches: the sympathetic nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, and the enteric nervous system. The enteric nervous system however is a less recognized part of the autonomic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for setting off the fight-or-flight response. The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for the body's rest and digestion response. In many cases, both of these systems have "opposite" actions where one system activates a physiological response and the other inhibits it. An older simplification of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems as "excitatory" and "inhibitory" was overturned due to the many exceptions found. A more modern characterization is that the sympathetic nervous system is a "quick response mobilizing system" and the parasympathetic is a "more slowly activated dampening system", but even this has exceptions, such as in sexual arousal and orgasm, wherein both play a role.
There are inhibitory and excitatory synapses between neurons. A third subsystem of neurons has been named as non-noradrenergic, non-cholinergic transmitters because they use other transmitters such as nitric oxide as a neurotransmitter. These functions are integral in autonomic function, in particular in the gut and the lungs.
Although the ANS is also known as the visceral nervous system and although most of its fibers carry non-somatic information to the CNS, many authors still consider it only connected with the motor side. Most autonomous functions are involuntary but they can often work in conjunction with the somatic nervous system which provides voluntary control. Overall, the ANS ensures the maintenance of vital functions and allows the body to effectively adapt to cycles of stress and recovery.