1. You have been to an ‘eat all you can’ buffet and have consumed large amounts of food. After returning home, you recline on the couch to watch television. Which division of the nervous system will be handling your body’s after-dinner activities? List several organs involved, the major nerve supply to each organ, and the effects of the nervous system on their functions.
The Parasympathetic Nervous System controls body functions when a person is at rest therefore, it will be handling my body’s after-dinner activities. The stomach, intestines, and gallbladder are the organs that are involved in the phenomena. In addition the M receptors stimulated by the stomach and intestines increase gastric secretions for digestion, and an increased motility and relaxation of sphincters. On the other hand, the M3 receptors that are stimulated by the gallbladder control the contraction to release bile. All of the organs mentioned have the vagus as their major nerve supply. Furthermore, the nervous system (PNSN) stimulates the production and release of saliva to encourage digestion while at rest. At the same time, peristalsis (movement of the stomach and intestines) happens to promote food digestion, and fat digestion by releasing bile. As a result, this phenomena makes us rest and digest after eating a lot of food in the buffet.
SOURCES:
Nall, R. M. (2020, April 23). Your Parasympathetic Nervous System Explained. Healthline. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.healthline.com/health/parasympathetic-nervous-system
NCBI - WWW Error Blocked Diagnostic. (n.d.-b). Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553141/#:%7E:text=In%20the%20stomach%20and%20intestines,stimulates%20contraction%20to%20release%20bile
2. Your friend is driving home from work, listening to her favorite music, when suddenly a bicycle came out of nowhere. She manages to swerve avoiding hitting the bicycle. She continued to drive home but she noticed that her heart is beating fast, she had goose bumps, and her heads were sweaty. How would you explain these effects?
My friend’s Sympathetic Nervous System Response was triggered since she was shocked and stressed from the scenario. The SNS controls the heart rate, blood pressure,digestion, urination, and sweating when we are exposed to dangerous or stressful environments. In addition, when the SNS is triggered, it makes our body more aware of our surroundings by helping us think quicker, and have better eyesight, reflexes, and strength. Therefore, it was just normal for her to feel that way since she was in a stressful situation which required faster thinking and movement.
SOURCES:
Harvard Health. (2020, July 6). Understanding the stress response. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response
Lanese, N., & Dutfield, S. (2022, February 9). Fight or flight: The sympathetic nervous system. livescience.com. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://www.livescience.com/65446-sympathetic-nervous-system.html
Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS): What It Is & Function. (n.d.). Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved October 5, 2022, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23262-sympathetic-nervous-system-sns-fight-or-flight#:%7E:text=Your%20sympathetic%20nervous%20system%20is,in%20danger%20or%20physically%20active.