Forebrain organization for autonomic cardiovascular control

This brief review discusses the current state of knowledge regarding the cortical circuitry associated with autonomic cardiovascular responses to volitional exercise in conscious humans. Studies to date have emphasized the autonomic nervous system adjustments that occur through top-down central command features as well as bottom-up signals arising from skeletal muscle. While in its infancy, the pattern of cortical circuitry associated with exercise seem to depend on the nature of the exercise but with common patterns arising in the insula cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, and hippocampus.