Points of Intersection Between Mental Disorder and the Autonomic Nervous System, and Their Characteristics

Abstract

The responses of the body to physical and psychological stress can be broadly classified into: physiological responses mediated by the autonomic nervous system; responses mediated by the neuroendocrine system, including the hypothalamus- pituitary- adrenal axis or neuropeptides; changes in the immune system, which correlate with the autonomic nervous system and neuroendocrine system; and emotional or behavioral changes. Acute responses to stress stimuli result from activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Chronic stress is also believed to exacerbate the condition of patients with deseases which are regarded as psychosomatic disorders in Japan.

A concept similar to psychosomatic disorder that has been proposed in recent years is functional somatic syndromes. It is common for mental disorders to be accompanied by complaints of physical suffering. The term “autonomic nervous disorder” has been widely used for patients with these complaints. Symptomatological classifications are mainly used nowadays, and in the field of psychiatry this disorder is diagnosed as a somatoform disorder. In the DSM-5, this is referred to as Somatic Symptom and Related Disorders, broadly classified into somatic symptoms and conversion disorder. Patients with depression often complain of autonomic symptoms. We give an outline about these diseases.