Why does stress sometimes cause increase appetite and other times stress inhibits appetite? Why is that when your are nervously anticipating something you feel “butterfli
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Sympathetic nervous system relation to stress
Based on Ch. 5 on Sapolsky’s book and your understanding of the sympathetic nervous system, explain the following:
Why does stress sometimes cause increase appetite and other times stress inhibits appetite?
Why is that when your are nervously anticipating something you feel “butterflies in your stomach”?
Nervous system
The nervous system has several divisions: the central division involving the brain and spinal cord and the peripheral division consisting of the autonomic and somatic nervous systems.
The autonomic nervous system has a direct role in physical response to stress and is divided into the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). When the body is stressed, the SNS contributes to what is known as the “fight or flight” response.
The body shifts its energy resources toward fighting off a life threat, or fleeing from an enemy.
The SNS signals the adrenal glands to release hormones called adrenalin (epinephrine) and cortisol. These hormones, together with direct actions of autonomic nerves, cause the heart to beat faster, respiration rate to increase, blood vessels in the arms and legs to dilate, digestive process to change and glucose levels (sugar energy) in the bloodstream to increase to deal with the emergency.
The SNS response is fairly sudden in order to prepare the body to respond to an emergency situation or acute stress—short term stressors. Once the crisis is over, the body usually returns to the pre-emergency, unstressed state.
This recovery is facilitated by the PNS, which generally has opposing effects to the SNS. But PNS over-activity can also contribute to stress reactions, for example, by promoting bronchoconstriction (e.g., in asthma) or exaggerated vasodilation and compromised blood circulation.
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