Figure 4. The origins of high blood pressure.

The brain predicts what blood pressure will be needed and then relies on multiple mechanisms to adjust blood pressure accordingly. These mechanisms, operating on different time scales, are shaped by an interconnected network that employs wired signals (sent along neurons), wireless signals (transmitted by hormones), and motivated behaviors, such as an increased appetite for salt. Again, unbounded individual consumption can lead to high-blood pressure.

© 2015 MIT Press

Figure 4 reprinted from Sterling and Laughlin, 2015 with permission.