Which parts of the brain control blood pressure?

Concept

The autonomic nervous system keeps arterial pressure stable by integrating baroreceptor signals and adjusting heart rate and vascular tone.

The principal cardiovascular centres lie in the medulla, with connected brainstem pathways through the pons; other brain regions can modulate this control.

Application

Among the listed combinations, “Pons, medulla, cerebellum” is the set accepted by the official exam key. The medulla contains the main cardiovascular and vasomotor centres, while the pons participates in the connected brainstem network. The cerebellum is chiefly concerned with coordination, so its inclusion reflects the official BPSC key rather than a claim that it is the primary blood-pressure centre.

Contrast

• Spinal cord, skull, hypothalamus: the skull is protective bone rather than a brain region, and the spinal cord lies outside the brain.

• Cord, skull, cerebrum: the skull is protective bone rather than a brain region, and the cord lies outside the brain.

• More than one of the above: this is a set-level count, not an anatomical combination.

• None of the above: this set-level claim conflicts with the combination retained by the official key.

Cross-check

The official BPSC answer key for booklet code 21/PV/M–2023 marks question 61 as C. Standard physiology likewise locates the main short-term neural control of arterial pressure in medullary and connected brainstem circuits.

Therefore, the accepted answer is “Pons, medulla, cerebellum.”