You may recall that the autonomic division of the nervous system contains two parts that work together to regulate many functions in the body:
- The Sympathetic Division - the part of the ANS that acts to prepare the body for action in stressful situations, engaging all the organism's resources to respond to a threat. This response is often called the "fight-or-flight" response.
- The Parasympathetic Division- the part of the ANS that acts to calm the body after the emergency has ended. It also directs the body to store energy for emergencies.
1. How do these two systems work together when people face unexpected danger?
2. After a dangerous situation, do you think people can accurately recall the details when trying to describe the situation to authorities?
3. When the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system is giving a fight-or-flight response, do people actually think before responding?