The parasympathetic nervous system is part of the body's autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS deals with essential body functions automatically—all of the processes that happen without you even ...

Late in pregnancy, the human body carefully prepares fetuses for the rigors of life outside the protection of the womb. Levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, ramp up and spike during labor.

The sympathetic nervous system, which helps your heart and other vital organs function all the time, increases activity in response to danger or stress, preparing the body for extra demands. Stress is ...

'In a low-risk group of babies born full-term, the autonomic nervous system and cortical systems appear to function well regardless of whether infants were exposed to labor prior to birth,' says Sarah ...

Funding: This research has received a grant from the CNES (number 4800001159). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the ...

The vagus nerve is a long, critical nerve that wanders from your brain all the way down your neck, chest and abdomen, connecting the brain stem to the body. Subsequently, it’s associated with a host ...

The connection between breathing and our nervous system represents one of the body’s most remarkable biological relationships. While most autonomic functions—like heart rate, digestion, and hormone ...