This volume contains the contributions to a Satellite Symposium of the XXXI In­ ternational Congress of Physiological Sciences in Espoo, Helsinki, Finland, July 15-17,1989. The general purpose of this Symposium was to bring together specialists from different fields of physiology who work on systems that are closely linked function­ ally with regard to behavioral adaptation. In a certain sense it represents a contin­ uation of two former books on the Central Interaction Between Respiratory and Cardiovascular Control Systems 1 and on Neurovegetative Control Systems: Basic 2 Function, Integration and Disorders , but explicitly includes the relationship with motor control. Since the first book appeared, much has been achieved in the field of physiology of respiratory, cardiovascular, and somatomotor control. It is not intended that this book compete with other publications from more specialized meetings which deal with the most recent findings in a particular field of research, and rightly so.