1. Which branch of the autonomic nervous system is dominant when an individual is adapting to a stressor, according to the General adaptation syndrome?
-I said:
Initially, the sympathetic nervous system is dominant during the countershock substage of the first stage of the model, alarm reaction, as during countershock an individual's resistance rises above normal levels due to the increased release of adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol caused by the dominance of the sympathetic nervous system. In the second stage, resistance, whereby the individual's resistance to a stressor is above normal levels, however their level of arousal is lower (relative to countershock) thus, the sympathetic nervous system is nevertheless involved in the continued release of excess cortisol, however arousal is not as high, due to lowered levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline. If an individual manages to adapt to and meet the demands of the stressor, then the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, and an individual's internal activity levels return back to homeostatic, balanced functioning. However, if the stressor is not overcome, then the individual will enter the third stage, exhaustion, whereby the prolonged activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the presence of cortisol causes the depletion of the body's internal resources, the sympathetic nervous system can no longer function effectively, and it will take the body a long time to return to homeostasis due to the likely reduction in health status.
tbh idk how to answer this so I just wrote a lot. It’s not really clear in my textbook which NS is activated, which is why I practically just inferred everything. I don't have an answer for this question, but I googled it online and found this:
1: Alarm
Upon perceiving a stressor, the body reacts with a “fight-or-flight” response and the sympathetic nervous system is stimulated as the body’s resources are mobilized to meet the threat or danger.
2: Resistance
The body resists and compensates as the parasympathetic nervous system attempts to return many physiological functions to normal levels while body focuses resources against the stressor and remains on alert.
3: Exhaustion
If the stressor or stressors continue beyond the body’s capacity, the resources become exhausted and the body is susceptible to disease and death.
Is it true that the parasympathetic nervous system is active during resistance? Or are they both active, and parasymp is just dominant?
... Also are we allowed to use extra paper in the exam? (other than the paper they give us) writing too much (useless information) is a MAJOR problem for me.