The sympathetic nervous system was thought to have evolved with jawed vertebrates. But lampreys—jawless, parasitic fish that suck out the blood of their hosts—have a simple one, per recent research.

In my 2022 book, The Bullied Brain, I explore how the bullying and abuse cycle has at its core a stress response. When the brain, nervous system, and body feel seriously threatened, they often ...

Salk Institute scientists discovered a relationship between killer T cell exhaustion and the body’s sympathetic—“fight-or-flight”—stress response. The research showed that beta-blockers could inhibit ...

Bolls explained that sympathetic arousal is the reaction from your sympathetic nervous system, which controls the “flight or fight” response to danger. While Bolls and his team are still looking ...