Human Resiliency C1

Question 1

What is negativity bias?

Answer 1

Mental survival skill.
Brain holds on to bad experiences and forgets about the good ones.

Question 2

nervous system

and

endocrine system

Answer 2

Nervous System: maps out functional responses for the future based on past experiences.
communicates movement with over 650 skeletal muscles or approximately 840 muscles of the body if we include complex muscles.
Manages the incoming sensory information from your five senses (sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch)
Consists of NS the brain, spinal cord, sensory organs, and nerves that spread throughout the body. Major organs controlled by NS (including the heart)

Endocrine System: the body’s chemical, hormone messenger system

Question 3

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

Answer 3

Control system for internal organs such as the heart, stomach, and intestines.

Two major structures of the ANS function as the body’s stress regulation system:

Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS)

Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS)

Question 4

Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) does what?

Answer 4

Manages the body’s energy resources ( functions like gas pedal)

Determines how energy from the body’s reserves will be used during a state of alertness or threat.

Ex.slow down functions involved in digestion, immune system, cognition (higher mental activities), etc. to have more energy to support functions in the body that attend to your survival.

Question 5

What parts of the brain are activated during stress response?

Answer 5

lower parts of the brain such as the brainstem and cerebellum ( reptilian brain)
along with amygdala, becomes more active during a fight-or-flight response

Question 6

What parts of the brain become less active during stress response?

Answer 6

Neocortex - higher or thinking part of the brain

because constriction of blood vessels (tightening of the blood vessels in this area of the brain), reduces the level of oxygen that area of the brain receives (Goldberg, 2001).

Question 7

What happens when activity decreases in the higher parts or (Executive Brain) of the brain?

Answer 7

Reduction in cognitive abilities required for success at work, school, and social relationships

Decline of abstract thinking, problem-solving skills, poor or ineffective decision making, poor judgment

Decrease in critical thinking skills, narrow-minded reasoning, ineffective planning, inability to control emotions, and a lack of impulse control

Question 8

Parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) does what?

Answer 8

Brakes for the SNS Rival of the SNS
Known as the “feed and breed” or “rest and digest” system
Enables the body to return to its balanced state of safety after a threat passed through a relaxation response
Supports the conservation of bodily resources
Slows the heart rate down
Restores tissue repair and digestive functions

Question 9

What happens when PNS activated?

Answer 9

Produces calming state by releasing a neurotransmitter, which reduces the effects of adrenaline.
Also associated with:
decreased respiration rate and relaxed respiration
decreased heart rate

Question 10

What are the two parts of the body’s stress response system?

Answer 10

Sympathetic-adrenomedullary System (SAM), is a fast pathway commonly referred to as the fight-or-flight response.

Deals with immediate short-term stressors. Stimulates secretion of catecholamine such as adrenaline (also called epinephrine). These chemicals act as an urgent message to the body to prepare for action.

Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system
(composed of the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal glands)
Slower and longer-acting stress response pathway.

Question 11

What happens in our bodies when perceived risk, threat, or danger is prolonged?

Answer 11

Cascading physiological changes occur.
Cortisol (stress hormone) is released into the bloodstream. As cortisol travels throughout the body, changes occur. Cortisol levels elevated due to chronic stress, associated with the following medical conditions and diseases: (McEwen, 2008; Qin et al., 2016):

type 2 diabetes
depression
chronic fatigue syndrome
burnout
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
impaired glucose utilization
hippocampal damage
vulnerability to metabolic insults
accelerated wear and tear of the body
compromised immune system
cancer and other diseases
compromised immune system
cancer and other diseases

Question 12

What happens in our minds when perceived risk, threat, or danger is prolonged?

Answer 12

Affects the brain, including learning and memory.
High levels of cortisol can negatively influence your learning.
Cortisol can heighten emotional memories to be vivid and strong, BUT
chronic exposure to cortisol can result in difficulty learning and problems with memory (Vogel & Schwabe, 2016).

Question 13

What are the key parts of the body’s security system?

Answer 13

Reticular activating system (RAS) - part ofbody’s arousal system that alerts you of danger.
Amygdala, and the hippocampus
Locus coeruleus (LC), forms part of the RAS, is main area responsible for the brain synthesis of norepinephrine (noradrenaline)

Question 14

hypervigilance,

Answer 14

characterized by an inability of the nervous system to feel safe

Question 15

What does the locus coeruleus (LC) do?

Answer 15

uses senses to scan the environment and preconsciously perceive potential threats before they happen.
Plays a central role in controlling the body’s arousal system, including the state of hypervigilance

Question 16

Amygdala

Answer 16

responsible for all types of emotional responses
associated with anxiety and fear
Known as “panic button in the brain”
Associated with many other functions:
learning, emotions, memory consolidation, regulating the autonomic nervous system, activation of the startle response, arousal, and interpretation of facial expressions
Crucial role in activating the body’s stress response system, specifically the sympathetic-adrenomedullary system (SAM)

Question 17

sympathetic-adrenomedullary system (SAM) axis,

Answer 17

fast pathway commonly referred to as the fight-or-flight response.
considered the physiological infrastructure of the fight-or-flight response.

Question 18

How does the amygdala work?

Answer 18

receives information from various areas of the brain (sensory, cognitive, and other areas)
determines the “value” of incoming “sensory” information, including evaluating whether the sensory information is a potential threat
As part of evaluation process, amygdala has access to the higher regions of the brain for conscious thinking and reality checking (e.g., is my life really in danger? Is this life-threatening? What are the likely odds that my life will be in danger?

Question 19

amygdala pathways that allow signals to transmit out to other areas of the brain,

Answer 19

Two -
Low road fast track. relays messages with speed and precision from the amygdala to the lower areas of the brain.

High road - slow track. pathway from the amygdala to the higher thinking parts of the brain
more complex than its speedy sister, the low road
When signals are sent from the amygdala to the higher parts of the brain, the higher brain regions produce conscious awareness and thinking, including reality testing, to judge the current situation at hand

Question 20

hippocampus

Answer 20

another anatomical system
helps regulate the amygdala
hippocampus is also responsible for regulating cortisol levels
involved in explicit (factual) memories (also known as declarative memory), concrete operations,
performs an important role in collaborating with the cortex to make sense of sensations.
allows the hippocampus to functionally offer contextual information to accurately evaluate a situation
responsible for regulating cortisol levels

Question 21

Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC)

Answer 21

Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)

reciprocally connected with the amygdala
plays a key role in a variety of autonomic and higher-level functions.
ACC appears to function as an alarm system for physical pain, social distress, and social ridicule

Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC)

involved in shifting our attention to the possibility of interpersonal rejection

appears they play a key role in the modulation of autonomic nervous system activity

Question 22

SNS immediately prepares or supplies the body with energy to do one of two things:

Answer 22

Stop or reduce the threat (fight) or
Escape (flight)