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?
- The Parasympathetic Nervous System is responsible for the rest-and-digest activities of the body.
- The Parasympathetic Nervous System is responsible for the rest-and-digest activities of the body.
- List several organs involved, the major nerve supply to each organ;
- Salivary glands - Facial (VII) nerves & Glossopharyngeal (IX) nerves
- Pancreas, liver, stomach, gallbladder, intestines, and heart - Vagus (X) nerves
- And the effects of the nervous system on their functions.
- Salivary glands, pancreas, liver - increased secretion
- Stomach, intestines - increased activity
- Gallbladder - increased contractions
- Heart - decreased force and rate of contractions
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 goosebumps, and her heads were sweaty. How would you explain these effects?
- The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for this phenomenon, activating the body's fight-or-flight response as a result of increased sympathetic activity. The body's fight-or-flight response was activated because of the fear of the driver causing an accident, hitting the bicycle. Effects of the fight-or-flight response may cause the heart to beat fast and sweaty hands, similar to the experience of the driver.