{"id":3583,"date":"2023-06-08T01:57:21","date_gmt":"2023-06-08T01:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/?p=3583"},"modified":"2023-06-08T01:57:22","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T01:57:22","slug":"the-brain-is-still-in-charge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/?p=3583","title":{"rendered":"The Brain Is Still In Charge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>The Autonomic Nervous System<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"650\" height=\"676\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/autonomic-nervous-system1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4321\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/autonomic-nervous-system1.jpg 650w, https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/autonomic-nervous-system1-288x300.jpg 288w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The autonomic nervous system controls specific body processes, such as blood circulation, digestion, breathing, urination, heartbeat, etc. The autonomic&nbsp;nervous system is named so because it works autonomously, i.e., without a person\u2019s conscious effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The primary function of the autonomic nervous system is homeostasis. Apart from maintaining the body\u2019s internal environment, it is also involved in controlling and maintaining the following life processes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Digestion<\/li><li>Metabolism<\/li><li>Urination<\/li><li>Defecation<\/li><li>Blood pressure<\/li><li>Sexual response<\/li><li>Body temperature<\/li><li>Heartbeat<\/li><li>Breathing rate<\/li><li>Fluid balance<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two types of the autonomic nervous system:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Sympathetic autonomic nervous&nbsp;system<\/li><li>Parasympathetic autonomic nervous&nbsp;system<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2>What Is the Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous System?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sympathetic&nbsp;Autonomic Nervous System:&nbsp;<\/strong>It&nbsp;is the part of the autonomic nervous system located near the thoracic and lumbar regions&nbsp;in the spinal cord. Its primary function is to stimulate the body\u2019s fight-or-flight response. It does this by regulating the heart rate, rate of respiration, pupillary response and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Parasympathetic&nbsp;Autonomic Nervous System<\/strong>: It&nbsp;is located in between the spinal cord and the medulla. It primarily stimulates the body\u2019s \u201crest and digest\u201d and \u201cfeed and breed\u201d responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Difference between Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Nervous System<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for the \u201cfight or flight\u201d response during any potential danger.&nbsp;On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system inhibits the body from overworking and restores the body to a calm and composed state.&nbsp;The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are differentiated based on how the body responds to environmental stimuli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The major differences between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are summarised below<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Sympathetic<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Parasympathetic<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>&nbsp;Involved in the fight or flight response.<\/td><td>&nbsp;Involved in maintaining homeostasis and also, permits the rest and digest response.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>&nbsp;The sympathetic system prepares the body for any potential danger.<\/td><td>&nbsp;The parasympathetic system aims to bring the body to a state of calm.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>&nbsp;Sympathetic system has shorter neuron pathways, hence a faster response time.<\/td><td>&nbsp;Has comparatively longer neuron pathways, hence a slower response time.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>&nbsp;Increases heartbeat, muscles tense up.<\/td><td>&nbsp;Reduces heartbeat, muscles relaxes.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>&nbsp;The pupil dilates to let in more light.<\/td><td>&nbsp;The pupil contracts.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>&nbsp;Saliva secretion is inhibited.<\/td><td>&nbsp;Saliva secretion increases, and digestion increases.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>&nbsp;In \u201cfight and flight\u201d situations, Adrenaline is released by the adrenal glands; more glycogen is converted to glucose.<\/td><td>&nbsp;No such functions exist in \u201cfight or flight\u201d situations.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3>Conclusion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The autonomic nervous system comprises two parts- the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The sympathetic nervous system activates the fight or flight response during a threat or perceived danger, and the parasympathetic nervous system restores the body to a state of calm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Autonomic Nervous System The autonomic nervous system controls specific body processes, such as blood circulation, digestion, breathing, urination, heartbeat, etc. The autonomic&nbsp;nervous system is named so because it works autonomously, i.e., without a person\u2019s conscious effort. The primary function of the autonomic nervous system is homeostasis. Apart from maintaining the body\u2019s internal environment, it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[27],"tags":[128],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3583"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3583"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3583\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4322,"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3583\/revisions\/4322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.georgiaemsacademy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}