Question

After a good meal, Jane is relaxing comfortably as her food digests, suggesting her ______ nervous system is in control. When she is frightened by a loud noise, Jane's digestion is inhibited and her heartbeat accelerates, suggesting her ______ nervous system is in control.

Answer 1

Answer:

After a good meal, Jane is relaxing comfortably as her food digests, suggesting her parasympathetic nervous system is in control. When she is frightened by a loud noise, Jane's digestion is inhibited and her heartbeat accelerates, suggesting her sympathetic nervous system is in control.

Explanation:

Parasympathetic nervous system and the sympathetic nervous system are two of the 3 domains of the autonomic nervous system.

During the resting and the relaxing stage, parasympathetic system (also called as rest or digest system) is activated which is associated with the conservation of the energy by :

1) Slowing the heart rate

2) Increasing the intestinal activity ( the reason why  Jane is relaxing comfortably as her food digests )

3) Relaxation of the sphincter muscles of the GIT.

While during the fight , flight or fright stage , the sympathetic nervous system is activated which is associated with the body alertness by :

1) Increasing the heart rate

2) Inhibition of secretion of GIT enzymes ( the reason why digestion of JANE is inhibited )

3) Relaxation of the walls and the contraction of the sphincters of the GIT smooth muscle.