BIOLOGICAL - Stress Flashcards
Which part of the brain responds to stress?
Hypothalamus
How does the nervous system carry messages?
Electrical signals that pass along neurons
These rely on neurochemicals at the gaps between neurons
What is the role of the peripheral nervous system (PNS)
Contains sensory and motor pathways.
These enable the brain to be aware of the world and control responses
Which part of the PNS is involved in stress response
Autonomic nervous system
What does the autonomic nervous system do?
Connects the heart with various glands such as the adrenal medulla
Concerned with regulation of internal structures
Works through direct neural stimulation of organs and releasing hormones through glands
What are the two branches of the autonomic nervous system?
Sympathetic branch
Parasympathetic branch
What does arousal of the sympathetic branch lead to?
Bodily arousal
increased heart rate and blood pressure
What does dominance of the sympathetic branch lead to?
Overall bodily calm
What are exocrine glands?
Glands with ducts that secrete products such as tears, sweat and saliva
These reach their destination through ducts
What are endocrine glands?
They secrete hormones concerned with behaviour
They are secreted directly into the blood stream
How does transferal of messages from neurotransmitters differ from the endocrine system
Neurotransmitters can pass on messages in fractions of a second but diffusion of hormones through the endocrine system takes much longer
When is the nervous system used in response to stress?
when an immediate response is required
S.A.M
Sympathetic branch of ANS
Stimulates the adrenal medulla
Describe S.A.M
Stressor Hypothalamus ANS Sympathetic branch Adrenaline and noradrenaline Fight/flight
What response does S.A.M produce?
Fight or flight
P.A.C
Pituitary gland
Adrenal cortex
Decsibe P.A.C
Stressor Hypothalamus Pituitary gland Release ACTH Adrenal cortex Corticosteroids/cortisol released into blood stream
What triggers S.A.M?
It is a shock response
What triggers P.A.C?
Long term (several hours of more)
What does the release of corticosteroids cause?
Gives us energy by converting fat into protein
The energy is need to replace the energy used
How does stress response differ between genders?
Women - tend and befriends (psychological)
Men - Sympathetic nervous system arousal (biological)
Natural immunity
Primitive system made of cells in the blood stream.
They attack and ingest invading pathogens e.g viruses
Specific immunity
Based on cells known as lymphocytes. More specific than natural immunity
2 types of specific immunity
Cellular
Humoral
Cellular immunity
Contains many different types of T cells that attack pathogens such as viruses in combination
Humoral immunity
Contains many different type of B cells
In combination these destroy outside cells e.g. bacteria
Asside from immunity, in what other ways can stress negatively impact our health?
Increased blood pressure and heart rate can damage the lining of the heart.
Prolonged levels of stress
What impact have acute time limited stressors been shown to have on the immune system?
Upregulation of natural immunity
What impact have brief naturalistic stressors been shown to have on the immune system?
A shift from cellular immunity towards humoral immunity but no durastic effects but viruses are not dealt with as adequately
What impact have chronic stressors been shown to have on the immune system?
Down regulation of immunity due to release of corticosteroids
Daily hassles
minor everyday annoyances
Daily uplifts
positive everyday occurrences
