Fight-or-flight response: Difference between revisions
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The '''fight or flight response''', also called the "acute stress response", was first described by [[Walter Cannon]] in the year of 1929. The theory states that animals react to threats with a general discharge of the [[sympathetic nervous system]]. The response was later recognized as the first stage of a [[general adaptation syndrome]] that regulates stress responses among vertebrates and other organisms. In layman's terms, an animal has two options when faced with danger. They can either face the threat ("fight"), or they can avoid the threat ("flight"). |
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The onset of a stress response is associated with specific physiological actions in the sympathetic nervous system, both directly and indirectly through the release of [[epinephrine]] and to a lesser extent [[norepinephrine]] from the [[adrenal_medulla|medulla]] of the [[adrenal gland]]s. The release is triggered by [[acetylcholine]] released from [[preganglionic]] sympathetic nerves. These [[catecholamine]] hormones facilitate immediate physical reactions by triggering increases in heart rate and breathing, constricting blood vessels in many parts of the body—but not in muscles (vasodilation), brain, lungs and heart—and tightening muscles. An abundance of catecholamines at neuroreceptor sites facilitates reliance on spontaneous or intuitive behaviors often related to combat or escape. |
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Normally, when a person is in a serene, unstimulated state, the "firing" of neurons in the [[locus ceruleus]] is minimal. A novel stimulus, once perceived, is relayed from the sensory cortex of the brain through the [[thalamus]] to the brain stem. That route of signaling increases the rate of [[norepinephrine|noradrenergic]] activity in the locus ceruleus, and the person becomes alert and attentive to the environment. |
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If a stimulus is perceived as a threat, a more intense and prolonged discharge of the locus ceruleus activates the sympathetic division of the [[autonomic nervous system]] (Thase & Howland, 1995). The activation of the [[sympathetic nervous system]] leads to the release of norepinephrine from nerve endings acting on the heart, blood vessels, respiratory centers, and other sites. The ensuing physiological changes constitute a major part of the acute stress response. The other major player in the acute stress response is the [[hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis]]. |
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==External link== |
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* [http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter4/sec2_1.html Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General] |
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*[http://www.alexander-tech.com/forstress.html The Alexander Technique can help to inhibit the fight or flight response] |
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[[Category:Nervous system]] |
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[[he:תגובת הלחם או ברח]] |
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[[nl:Vecht- of vluchtreactie]] |
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