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Oct 30, 2023 · The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) is a division of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) that controls the activity of the smooth and cardiac muscles and glands. It works in synergy with the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which complements the PSNS activity.
- Medical Content
- 22 min
- Overview
- Parasympathetic nervous system function
- Parasympathetic nervous system and your heart
- Parasympathetic cranial nerves
- Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system
- Examples of parasympathetic responses
- The takeaway
The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) is one of two major divisions of the larger autonomic system in your body. Its function is to keep the basic functions of your body working as they should.
Your nervous system is a wild and wonderful network of nerves that act in different key functions to keep your body moving, responding, sensing, and more.
The parasympathetic and sympathetic portions of the autonomic system are two halves of the same whole. This article will examine the parasympathetic nervous system, what it controls, and how it works with the sympathetic nervous system.
Parasympathetic nervous system definition
Doctors often call the parasympathetic nervous system the “rest and digest” side, while the sympathetic is the “fight or flight.”
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Your PSNS starts in your brain and extends out via long fibers that connect with special neurons near the organ they intend to act on. Once PSNS signals hit these neurons, they have a short distance to travel to their respective organs.
Examples of the areas the PSNS acts on include:
•eyes
•lacrimal glands that produce tears
•parotid glands that also produce saliva
•salivary glands that produce saliva
There are several special receptors for the PSNS in your heart called muscarinic receptors. These receptors inhibit sympathetic nervous system action. This means they’re responsible for helping you maintain your resting heart rate. For most people, the resting heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute.
On the other hand, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) increases heart rate. A faster heart rate (usually) pumps more oxygen-rich blood to the brain and lungs. This can give you the energy to run from an attacker or heighten your senses in another scary situation.
According to an article in the journal Circulation from the American Heart Association, a person’s resting heart rate can be one indicator of how well a person’s PSNS, specifically the vagus nerve, is working. This is usually only the case when a person doesn’t take medications that affect heart rate, like beta-blockers, or have medical conditions affecting the heart.
For example, heart failure reduces the response of the parasympathetic nervous system. The results can be an increased heart rate, which is the body’s way of trying to improve the amount of blood it pumps through the body.
The cranial nerves are paired nerves that are responsible for many movements and sensations that take place in your body’s head and neck. The nerves all start in the brain. There are 12 cranial nerves labeled using Roman numerals from I to XII, with the first set of nerves located at the brain’s front.
For the most part, if you know the actions of the PSNS, you can consider the sympathetic nervous system to have opposite reactions. However, there are times when the systems are opposites, but instead complement each other.
Here are some key differences in the two:
An easy acronym to remember how and where the PSNS works is SLUDD. This stands for:
•Salivation: As part of its rest-and-digest function, the PSNS stimulates production of saliva, which contains enzymes to help your food digest.
•Lacrimation: Lacrimation is a fancy word for making tears. Tears keep your eyes lubricated, preserving their delicate tissues.
•Urination: The PSNS contracts the bladder, which squeezes it so urine can come out.
•Digestion: The PSNS stimulates the release of saliva to promote digestion. It also enacts peristalsis, or the movement of the stomach and intestines, to digest food as well as release bile for the body to digest fats.
•Defecation: The PSNS constricts the sphincters in the intestine and moves digested food material down the digestive tract so a person can have a bowel movement.
Your PSNS is a vital part of your body’s key functions. When it doesn’t work properly, you can face several bodily dysfunctions that affect your health. If you think you may be having trouble with one of your body’s parasympathetic nervous system functions, talk with your doctor to find out how you can get help.
- Rachel Nall, MSN, CRNA
- Slower than the sympathetic division
Feb 20, 2021 · The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) are both components of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Together, they regulate the involuntary and reflexive functions of the human body. The PSNS controls the ‘rest and digest’ functions of the body and maintains the body’s internal environment.
- Kate Latham
Oct 31, 2022 · The parasympathetic nervous system predominates in quiet “rest and digest” conditions. In contrast, the sympathetic nervous system drives the “fight or flight” response in stressful situations (see Diagram. Diagram of Efferent Sympathetic (red) and Parasympathetic (blue) Nervous System).
- Jacob Tindle, Prasanna Tadi
- Asram Medical College, Eluru, India
- 2020
- 2022/10/31
Sep 21, 2023 · Functions. PSNS Nerves. Neurotransmitter. Dysfunction. The parasympathetic nervous system is a subdivision of the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which regulates bodily functions outside of voluntary control, therefore being automatic.
The parasympathetic part of your autonomic nervous system balances your sympathetic nervous system. While your sympathetic nervous system controls your body’s “fight or flight” response, your parasympathetic nervous system helps to control your body’s response during times of rest.
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May 23, 2018 · The Parasympathetic Nervous System is responsible for the stimulation of activities that occur in the body when it is resting during the “feed and breed” or “rest and digest” state.
