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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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