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Copyright © 1997,
Jay Ligda. All rights reserved.
Published by Humans in
the Universe and Jay
Ligda.
The Stress Reaction Cycle
All throughout the day, the
soma is bombarded
with sensory input. This can be from any of the number of
channels of
communication. This sensory input enters the body through the various
sense organs and is channeled into the
brain through
the thalamus of the hindbrain and is processed in the cortex.
The primary sensory cortex, an area on the top portion of the
brain, receives
input from touch, pressure, pain, taste, and temperatures receptors.
This is the
proprioceptive
channel of communication. Smell is received at the olfactory cortex,
sight is received at the visual cortex
(visual
channel), and sound is received at the auditory cortex
(auditory
channel). Once information is receive at one of these cortexes,
it is then interpreted and sent to a corresponding motor cortex (kinesthetic
channel) where movement is coordinated (Martini, 1992).
The information is then received by the
hypothalamus where activity between the
nervous system
and endocrine system is coordinated. The endocrine system releases
various hormones into the circulatory system "that travel far and wide in
the body to transmit information and trigger specific responses from different
cell groups and tissues. When they arrive at their targets, they bind
to specific receptor molecules and transmit their message" (Kabat-Zinn, 1990,
p. 252). The endocrine system coordinates activity that does not represent
an immediate threat to homeostasis. The reaction time could take "seconds,
minutes, hours, or even years" (Martini, 1992, p. 173). The
nervous system
is responsible for immediate threats to homeostasis that require an instant
response. This is known as the
fight-or-flight
reaction.
by Jay
Ligda
(This work is a all or part of an original work first
published/written for John. F. Kennedy University: Final Integrative
Project., Mar1996.)
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References
-
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full Catastrophe Living:
Using the Wisdom of the Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and
Illness. New York, NY: Dell.
-
Martini, F. (1992). The Fundamentals of Anatomy and
Physiology. 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice-Hall.
-
Pearson, D. & Shaw, S. (1982). Life Extension:
A Practical Scientific Approach. New York, NY: Warner.
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