The ANS: The Parasympathetic Nervous System

Parasympathetic- The parasympathetic nervous system causes a rest or digest responses to slow the body down after stressful

Sympathetic division activates as soon as you are scared. This causes a lot of things in your body to increase or decrease. Some examples are increased heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, sweat glands, dilated pupils and liver. It also decreases digestive and urinary systems. When your heart rate increases you need more oxygen to reach your brain. Your liver releases glucose to the bloodstream so that you will have more energy.

It is also called as the vegetative system composed of sympathetic and parasympathetic system. Since the sympathetic system fires up the body it is therefore the sympathetic system that prepares our body for action. It plays an important part in the perception of the stimulus presented. In the case of resilience or acute stress, its reaction includes: cardiac contractions, sweating, stimulating of hair follicles, dilation of respiratory organs, and redirection of blood supply to muscles (Ortega and Saavadra, 2014).

The other part is the central nervous system (CNS), which is made up of the brain and the spinal cord. The CNS acts as a control centre and sends the signals to the needed neurons. It then brings a response via glands and muscles which maintain homeostasis (Sherwood, 2016). The PNS divides into the two following systems; the autonomic and the somatic. This controls involuntary and voluntary movements of the body such as heart muscles or skeletal muscles (Sherwood, 2016). The autonomic nervous system is then divided into the sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems (Sherwood, 2016). The sympathetic system controls responses in our body which is also known as the 'fight or flight' reaction. This reaction increases the heart rate and blood pressure within the body as well as the production of adrenaline (Colbert et al, 2012). The parasympathetic nervous system has the opposite effect of the reaction, and controls the resting and digestion systems in the body. This decreases the heart rate and blood pressure therefore it does not trigger of a production of adrenaline (Colbert et al, 2012). The nervous system transmits and communicates around the body via a network of neurons. These are stimulated to trigger an electric impulse (Cohen, 2014). The electric impulse begins at the dendrites and proceeds down the body of the neurone

The ANS system supplied smooth muscle and glands, which influences the function of our internal organs. The ANS helps to maintain homeostasis through the coordination of various activities such as hormone secretion, circulation, respiration, digestion and excretion. The autonomic nervous system controls the insides of the body: the viscera or gut. It carries information about the inside of the body to the CNS and controls the action of internal organs, including the gut, the heart, the secretion of epinephrine (adrenalin) and norepinephrine (noradrenalin) from the medulla (middle part) of the adrenal gland, etc.

Dysautonomia is a word used to describe any malfunction or failure of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is responsible for controlling bodily functions not consciously controlled. The ANS controls functions such as heart rate, digestion, respiration, homeostasis, pupil dilation, and much more. The ANS is broken down into two branches: the Sympathetic Nervous System and the Parasympathetic Nervous System, which are responsible for our body’s fight or flight response.

The ANS stands for the autonomic nervous system is the part of the peripheral nervous system. It controls the function of the body like heart rate, blood flow, digestion and breathing. It has been divided into two branches which are ‘sympathetic’ and a ‘parasympathetic’ branch. The two divisions work together and function opposite to each other. The sympathetic division prepares the body for the emergency or a stressful situation. It is also known as a fight or flight response. For example, if Jack was waiting for his bus and he had to show his ticket to get on the bus he checked his wallet he couldn’t find, his heart rate would rise up, his hands would sweat, and the hair stand on the end. He then checked his pocket and found his ticket,

The heart is affected greatly by the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems during stressful events both mentally and physically. When the body is put into vigorous exercise, the sympathetic nervous system speeds up the heart rate. When a person is scared or stressed out mentally the parasympathetic nervous system speeds up the heart rate by almost 5 times the resting value. These effects are caused by the releasing of different hormones. Epinephrine or adrenaline is released by the parasympathetic nervous system is what causes the heart to speed up during stressful events.

The human nervous system is complex one that is composed of two main parts: the central nervous system and the peripheral nervous system. The central nervous system is composed of the brain and the spinal cord, that both serve different purposes. The brain intercepts and stores information as well as send actions to the muscles, organs, and glands. The spinal cords serves as a connecter for the brain and the peripheral nervous system. The peripheral nervous system is separated into two different parts: the autonomic and somatic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is responsible for regulating functions in the body automatically without conscious thought about it. The Somatic nervous system is responsible for carrying sensory information

Both The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system innervate the blood vessel’s walls and regulate vascular smooth muscle contractility and hence tension. Endothelial Cells of large vessels are not innervated by ANS by direct means, whereas the endothelium of the the arterioles (microvasculature) receive direct contacts from ANS nerve endings(Burnstock, 1990). Nerve endings do not form synapses with vascular cells instead release neurotransmitters that can reach target cells (Hirst, Bramich, Edwards, & Klemm, 1992).

The autonomic nervous system is extremely vital for a human in order to even have a possibility in living. The autonomic nervous system is in charge of all the things that we do without actually realizing we are doing it, for example our heart, digestive, breathing, our pupils dilating etc. The autonomic nervous system has a parasympathetic and a sympathetic division, which play two completely different roles. The parasympathetic division brings the body to a calm state by lowering the heart rate, allowing the muscles to relax, etc. Although the body is in a “resting and digesting” state the autonomic nervous system is still working just as hard to continue to maintain our physiology. The sympathetic division is the complete opposite of the

which it does in the body. This is the reaction of "fighting or fleeing." The sympathetic

Mind modulation of the autonomic nervous system (Autonomic nervous system) is essential to how we live our daily lives. The reaction between our brain, brain stem, and different glands and nerves in our body is imperative to how we react to things or even go through daily routines. As usual with humans, we are not perfect and have issues such as “psychosomatic problems” which lead to unwanted responses to stimuli or stress (Rossi). The process in which the mind modulates the cells which produce these effects is broken down into three stages: mind generated thoughts and processes; the filtration of these impulses via state-dependent

"Other reactions caused by the sympathetic nervous system include excess release of stomach acid, inhibition of digestion, release of red blood cells by the spleen, release of stored-up sugar by the liver, increase in metabolic rate, and dilation of the pupils.” (ibid.).

This article begins the topic of ANS dysregulation by introducing the psychophysiology of a traumatic experience. Normally, when an individual experiences trauma, the ANS is stimulated leading to the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) being hyper aroused and the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) being hypo aroused in addition to the fight or flight response. Sometimes, post-traumatic experience, the ANS continues to be sensitive. This leads to cognitive, physical, and emotional symptoms, overreactivity of the stress response, and negative thoughts that intensify everything. Consequently, recovery from this emotional and physiological arousal is difficult as this arousal becomes overwhelming to the individual. In addition, the SNS and PNS swap roles. The SNS and fight or flight response is triggered during non-threatening situations and the PNS becomes non-responsive during threatening situations. The authors suggest that the pharmacology of the “Window of Tolerance” (a model of autonomic arousal) be used to change drug treatments for the better through aiding in emotional regulation. This article contributes to my research questions by elaborating on the idea of ANS dysregulation, how it affects an individual and