COURSE · PART 3 · MODULE 12
Module 12: Autonomic and Whole-Body Symptoms
Heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, temperature, digestion and bladder function are not controlled by willpower. Symptoms in these areas are real, but “autonomic dysregulation” is not one diagnosis or a complete explanation.
What this module teaches
- The autonomic nervous system helps regulate automatic body functions.
- Dizziness, palpitations, nausea, bowel change, sweating and temperature difficulty can have many causes.
- Group-level autonomic findings in FND are mixed and are not an individual diagnostic test.
- Conditions such as POTS or orthostatic hypotension can coexist with FND and require their own criteria.
- A short symptom-and-context record can help; constant monitoring can also increase burden.
- A personal plan should separate daily access, agreed treatment and signs that need reassessment. [1][2][3]
Pages
- Autonomic Symptoms, Overlap, and Other Causes
- Useful Tracking, Measurements, and Clinical Assessment
- Build a Personal Autonomic-Symptom Plan
The third page separates living with symptoms from learning physiology and measurement rules.
Inside each page
For the Person With FND · For Family, Friends, and Other Supporters · For Clinicians and the Care Team · Research and Sources
Related reference: Autonomic symptoms: assessment and management options.
Research and Sources
The FND evidence is heterogeneous and group-based. The POTS review describes a separate clinical syndrome and is included to prevent diagnostic collapsing, not to imply that autonomic symptoms equal POTS. [1][2][3]
| Citation | Figure | Full citation |
|---|---|---|
| [1] | — | Berntson GG, Cacioppo JT, Quigley KS. Autonomic determinism: the modes of autonomic control, the doctrine of autonomic space, and the laws of autonomic constraint. Psychological Review. 1991;98(4):459–487. FND-CIT-0063. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.98.4.459 |
| [2] | — | Paredes-Echeverri S, Maggio J, Bègue I, et al. Autonomic, endocrine, and inflammation profiles in functional neurological disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. 2022;34(1):30–43. FND-CIT-0064. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.21010025 |
| [3] | — | Raj SR, Fedorowski A, Sheldon RS. Diagnosis and management of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome. CMAJ. 2022;194(10):E378–E385. FND-CIT-0074. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.211373 |
This overview still needs review by people with autonomic symptoms and FND, autonomic specialists, cardiologists, neurologists and accessibility reviewers.
Plain-language draft and research package prepared: September 5, 2026 · Clinical review pending