Epinephrine Experiment

Widmaier, EP, Raff, H & Strang, KT (2014). Vander’s Human Physiology. The Mechanisms of Body Function. MCGraw Hill, Chapter 14, page 499.

A neurotransmitter is a chemical that is released in order to send a signal to another neuron across a synapse. During this experiment acetylcholine was used and it is a neurotransmitter that is released from all parasympathetic postganglionic fibers (Sherwood,2016). The main function of acetylcholine is the activation of skeletal muscles and glandular functions in the endocrine system. Another neurotransmitter utilized was epinephrine. Epinephrine is the primary hormone that prepares the body for fight or flight responses and regulates arterial blood pressure in situations with adrenaline (Medicine.net, 2017). Although not necessarily a neurotransmitter, atropine sulfate was used in this study as well and it does closely effect acetylcholine. More specifically, atropine sulfate is a parasympatholytic agents that interacts with muscarinic receptors on effector cells which then prevents acetylcholine form binding to the receptor site (Kovalcuka et al., 2015). Baroreceptors also played a key role within this experiment. The primary role of baroreceptors is to sense pressure changes and to respond to change of tension in the arterial wall which helps in regulation of blood

The hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis is a critical adaptive system that maximizes survival potential in the face of physical or psychological challenge. The principal end-products of the HPA axis, glucocorticoid hormones, act on multiple organ systems, including the brain, to maintain homeostatic balance. Ryan Jankord and James P. Herman LIMBIC REGULATION OF HYPOTHALAMO-PITUITARY-ADRENOCORTICAL FUNCTION DURING ACUTE AND CHRONIC STRESS

Metanephrines are inactive substances that result when two important hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine) break down. These hormones are made by a pair of glands located on top of your kidneys (adrenal glands). The adrenal glands release these hormones during stress.

Radically feminist for its time, Mary Wollstonecraft's unfinished novel, The Wrongs of Woman, is a cutting critique of both the patriachal construct of marriage in 18th century england, and female compliance in their downfall; due to their inability to part with romantic sentimentalism. The novel follows Maria Venables, who is unjustly imprisoned in an asylum by her cruel husband George, who seeks to control her by incarcerating her and confiscating her child. The novel focuses not on personal wrongs, but rather the wrongs that society percieves women to have made, which, in Maria's case, is her attempt to leave her husband. This extract uses Marias physical imprisonment as a representation of man's desire to enforce the oppressive patriachal instituation of marriage upon a woman attempting to transcend it, and the symbolic use of gothic conventions - such as crumbling architecture and threatening figures - manifests horror as an actuality for women of her epoch.

Marieb, E. N., & Hoehn, K. (2016). Human anatomy and physiology, (10th ed.). Essex, England: Pearson.

Dr. Matthew Tull, a researcher for anxiety disorders, writes, "When we experience stress, the body releases a hormone called cortisol, which is helpful in mobilizing the body to respond to a stressful event.  Some animal studies, though, show that high levels of cortisol may damage or destroy cells in the hippocampus" (2016). As a result of the cortisol damaging the hippocampus, the hippocampus becomes smaller (Tull, 2016).

Among the neuroendocrine changes accompanying chronic stress, interaction between gonadal hormones (estradiol, progesterone) and stress hormones (glucocorticoids) plays a pivotal role in influencing the

Our study demonstrated that even a prenatal genetic insult in early life could lead to long term change on brain structure, metabolism and behaviors. First, we established a novel mouse model to control spatial and temporal expression of DN-DISC1 in NPCs, which allows us to monitor the effect of risk genes on NPCs at the beginning of brain development. Second, we showed that a short-term prenatal expression of DN-DISC1 in embryonic NPCs and then off after birth was enough to cause subtle but significant behavior changes in anxiety and depression-like behaviors in adulthood. Third, using an unbiased metabonomics approach we systematically analyzed metabolic alterations in the littermates and revealed important metabolites in the brain,

Stress is one of the most important factors responsible for depressive disorders [11]. The chronic mild stress (CMS) model, a widely used rodent model of depression, consists of repeated exposure to an array of varying and unpredictable, mild stressors and it induces changes in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis Katz et al. 1981Vollmayr B, Henn FA (2003)

notably altering behaviour and cognition, as well as disease susceptibility in adulthood (6). Stress hormones like glucocorticoids and CRH could interact with their receptors in the foetal brain, which have an influence on neuronal differentiation and function at different stages of development (9). During pregnancy, maternal psychosocial stress threatens the CNS and shortens the length of gestation (8). Low birth weight can also alter brain development and is associated with behavioural and cognitive disorders in adulthood (1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). The offspring of stressed mothers are more likely to have reduced head circumferences (7), show emotional problems (7, 9), impaired memory (4, 5, 7) as well as supress cognitive performances including schizophrenia (5, 6, 9), attention deficit (5, 6, 9), antisocial behaviour (2, 6, 7), increased vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), learning difficulties (6, 9), anxiety disorders and depression (4, 6, 8, 9), impaired intelligence and thus lower school grades (7,

“The ‘stress hormone’ cortisol is believed to create a domino effect that hard-wires pathways between the hippocampus and amygdala in a way that might create a vicious cycle by creating a brain that becomes predisposed to be in a constant state of fight-or-flight” (Bergland, 2014).

Immunologic abnormalities in depression have been described for over two decades (Abelaira et al, 2013) but it is still unclear whether these abnormalities play a role in the pathogenesis of depression. There is still great difficulty in understanding the complexity of the communication between the immune system and the brain. Nevertheless, a few studies have addressed this issue (DellaGioia & Hannestad, 2010). (Tagliari et al, 2011; You et al.,2011) have demonstrated that CMS could induce immune alterations in both peripheral tissues and CNS (Girotti et al., 2011, Kubera et al., 1995) reported that rats subjected to chronic mild stress display increased pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-6 in peripheral circulation. increased of the hippocampal levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1 β (Goshen et al., 2008)

The medieval period is the period in history beginning with the Renaissance, literally meaning the “middle period” in history. Clothing, tradition, religion and lifestyle were viewed much differently than they are in today’s modern society. The best example of all the different types of people and their lifestyles is Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, in which he opens with a description of twenty-nine people going on a pilgrimage. The way people behave today allows readers to recognize each character's distinct personality. In the “General Prologue”, Chaucer describes the Wife of Bath in a way that is much different than how he describes the other twenty-eight characters. His use of imagery, word choice, tone and rhythm to describe the Wife lure

Viewed from an evolutionary standpoint, in early times stress caused the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system resulting in an outpouring of the hormones epinephrine, norepinephrine, and glucocorticoids that were essential to the life-preserving fight or flight reactions of primitive man (Anthony 1988). However, the nature of stress for the individual today is different. It is only occasionally and unexpectedly that one is confronted with overwhelming, life-threatening stresses. Present stresses arise from everyday stresses of work, finances and school. The problem is that the body still continues to respond in the same fashion as primitive times. This makes the large release of hormones very harmful. They can cause an increase in blood pressure, damage muscle tissue, lead to infertility, inhibit growth, damage the hippocampus and suppress the immune system (Carlson 1994). It is therefore, important that individuals learn to control the stresses in their lives. The more detrimental coping behaviors will cause a larger change