Senses and the Endocrine System
Senses and the Endocrine System The endocrine system plays an important role in our ability to handle stress. Hormone release associated with the stress response can help us to survive and handle crisis situations. However, chronic stress can result in unregulated release of stress hormones that can have negative effects on the brain and our immune systems. For this case assignment, you will prepare a 2-3 page paper in which you: Describe the difference between acute and chronic stressors Describe the stress response and the effects of cortisol release on the human body. (With which division of the nervous system is the stress response associated?) Discuss and label the components of HPA axis and its feedback mechanisms. Discuss the pathologies associated with dysregulation of cortisol, focusing on the brain and the immune system.
Senses and the Endocrine System
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Senses and the Endocrine System
Stress is defined by some medical authors as the non-specific response of the body to a stimulus that threatens to overcome or to an extent overcomes the body’s ability to maintain the equilibrium of internal biological mechanisms (Steckler et al 2005). Normally, stress is caused by factors known as stressors such as social, physical, psychological, emotional or chemical components. The level of stress varies depending on the magnitude of the stressors causing two major forms of stress. Acute stress is the immediate response of the body to the stressors to fight the stressors and maintain normal body homeostasis through fight or flight (Steckler et al 2005). Under these conditions, the body or the brain becomes stimulated to respond in a certain way to restore the body in its normal functions. Chronic body stress is prolonged stress that occurs when the body stays acutely stressed for a long time. Under this condition, the magnitude of the stressors is too high and the body requires more time to fight them and restore its normal conditions.
Stress response is a physiological reaction that occurs in the body as a response to impending threats or harmful events that threaten to ruin the ability of the body to survive. In this response, the body releases cortisol or hydrocortisone to suppress the immune system and promote general body metabolism. When the body assumes stress response mode, it prepares for fight or flight hence increased metabolism prepares the body to undertake restoration tasks or develop defensive mechanisms (Steckler et al 2005). Cortisol is produced in the zona fasciculata precisely by the adrenal cortex of the adrenal gland. In cases of chronic stress, the hypothalamus in the human brain triggers the pituitary gland to release adrenocorticotrophic hormone, which causes the adrenal cortex of the kidneys to release cortisol. The system of reactions that restores the body to its normal state of homeostasis is called hypothala...