Question

A college student wakes up and notices a racing heart and dilated pupils. The student is scheduled to write an exam later that morning. Which system is responsible for this physiological response?A. Cardiovascular irregularity B. Sympathetic nervous system C. The release of dopamine D. Autonomic nervous system

Answer 1

Sympathetic nervous system

Answer 2

Answer:

B. Sympathetic nervous system

Explanation:

There are two divisions of autonomic nervous system.

1. Sympathetic nervous system
2. Parasympathetic nervous system

The sympathetic nervous system is responsible for fight and flight response. It is responsible for increasing heart beat, decreasing digestion, decreasing salivary secretions, dilating pupils, increasing blood supply to skeletal muscles and decreasing blood supply to gut. Such a response helps the body to overcome situations of stress and emergency as in the case of college boy.

The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for rest and digest response. It is responsible for decreasing heart beat, increasing digestion, increasing salivary secretions, constricting pupils, decreasing blood supply to skeletal muscles and increasing blood supply to gut. This response helps the body to in maintenance and resting.

A. Cardiovascular irregularity

It can explain the racing heart but cannot explain the dilated pupils. Hence, it is not the correct choice.

B. Sympathetic nervous system

This is the correct answer choice as explained above.

C. The release of dopamine

It is released during pleasurable activities and cannot explain the racing heart and dilated pupils.

D. Autonomic nervous system

Autonomic nervous system consists of 2 parts, sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous. Parasympathetic nervous cannot explain the response of the college student.