This paper presents a model that integrates autonomic, attentional, and affective systems into a functional and structural network to understand emotion regulation and dysregulation. The model emphasizes the relationship between attentional regulation and affective processes, proposing underlying physiological systems that integrate these functions for self-regulation and adaptability. The network is placed within the context of dynamical systems models involving feedback and feedforward circuits, with a focus on negative feedback mechanisms and inhibitory processes. The authors argue that inhibitory processes are crucial for adaptability and success, and that disruptions in these processes can lead to positive feedback loops, such as dis-inhibition in anxiety disorders. The paper also reviews the functional and structural aspects of emotion, including the role of the central autonomic network (CAN) and the anterior executive region (AER) in response organization and selection. Experimental studies on generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are discussed to illustrate the implications of disrupted inhibitory pathways in psycho-pathology. The model highlights the importance of cardiac variability (HRV) as an index of neurovisceral integration and self-regulatory ability, and suggests that reduced HRV is associated with various pathological states. The anterior cingulate cortex is identified as a key structure in integrating visceral, attentional, and affective information, and its role in response selection and self-regulation is emphasized.This paper presents a model that integrates autonomic, attentional, and affective systems into a functional and structural network to understand emotion regulation and dysregulation. The model emphasizes the relationship between attentional regulation and affective processes, proposing underlying physiological systems that integrate these functions for self-regulation and adaptability. The network is placed within the context of dynamical systems models involving feedback and feedforward circuits, with a focus on negative feedback mechanisms and inhibitory processes. The authors argue that inhibitory processes are crucial for adaptability and success, and that disruptions in these processes can lead to positive feedback loops, such as dis-inhibition in anxiety disorders. The paper also reviews the functional and structural aspects of emotion, including the role of the central autonomic network (CAN) and the anterior executive region (AER) in response organization and selection. Experimental studies on generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) are discussed to illustrate the implications of disrupted inhibitory pathways in psycho-pathology. The model highlights the importance of cardiac variability (HRV) as an index of neurovisceral integration and self-regulatory ability, and suggests that reduced HRV is associated with various pathological states. The anterior cingulate cortex is identified as a key structure in integrating visceral, attentional, and affective information, and its role in response selection and self-regulation is emphasized.