Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Defense Physiology: From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Defense Physiology: From Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
DefensephysiologyWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia
Defensephysiology
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia
Defensephysiologyisatermusedtorefertothesymphonyofbodyfunction(physiology)changeswhichoccurin
responsetoastressorthreat.
Whenthebodyexecutesthefightorflight"reactionorstressresponse,thenervoussysteminitiates,coordinates
anddirectsspecificchangesinhowthebodyisfunctioning(physiology),preparingthebodytodealwiththe
threat.(SeealsoGeneralAdaptationSyndrome.)
Contents
1
2
3
4
Definitions
Physiologicalreactionstothreat(orperceivedthreat)
Durationofthreatanditsdifferentphysiologicaleffectsonthenervoussystem.
Seealso
Definitions
stress:Asitpertainstothetermdefensephysiology,thetermstressreferstoaperceivedthreattothecontinued
functioningofthebody/lifeaccordingtoitscurrentstate.
threat:Whatconstitutesathreatasitpertainstodefensephysiology?Athreatmaybeconsciouslyrecognizedor
not.Aphysicalevent(aloudnoiseorcarcollision),achemicalorabiologicalagentwhichalters(orhasthe
possibilitytoalter)bodyfunction(physiology)awayfromoptimumorhealthyfunctioning(orawayfromits
currentstateoffunctioning)maybeperceivedasathreat(alsocalledastressor).
Lifecircumstances,thoughposingnoimmediatephysicaldanger,couldbeperceivedasathreat.Anythingthat
couldchangethecontinuingofthepersonslifeastheyarecurrentlyexperiencingitcouldbeperceivedasathreat.
Physiologicalreactionstothreat(orperceivedthreat)
Athreatmaybeeitherempirical(anoutsideobservermayagreethattheeventorcircumstanceposesathreat)ora
priori(anoutsideobserverwouldnotagreethattheeventorcircumstanceposesathreat).Whatisimportanttothe
individual,intermsofthebodysresponse,isthatathreatisperceived.
Theperceptionofathreatmayalsotriggeranassociatedfeelingofdistress.Physiologicalreactionstriggeredby
mindcannotdifferentiateboththephysicalormentalthreatseparately,Hencethe"fightorflight"responseof
mindforthebothreactionswillbesame.
Durationofthreatanditsdifferentphysiologicaleffectsonthenervous
system.
AcuteStressReactionThebodyexecutestheFightorflightreactiontogetthebodyoutofdangerquickly.
Whenthetimingbetweenthethreatandtheresolutionofthethreatareclose,thefightorflight"reactionis
executed,thethreatishandled,andthebodyreturnstoitspreviousstate(takingcareofthebusinessoflife
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_physiology
1/2
7/3/2016
DefensephysiologyWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia
digestion,relaxation,tissuerepairetc.).Thebodyhasevolvedtostayinthismodeforonlyashorttime.
ChronicStressStateWhenthetimingbetweenthethreatandtheresolutionofthethreataremoredistant(the
threatortheperceptionofthreatisprolongedorotherthreatsoccurbeforethebodyhasrecovered),thefightor
flight"reactioncontinuesandbecomesthenewstandardoperatingconditionofthebody,chronicDefense
Physiology.Continuinginthismodeproducessignificantnegativeeffects(distress)inmanyaspectsofbody
functioning(physical,mentalandemotionaldistress).
Seealso
Hypothalamicpituitaryadrenalaxis
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Defense_physiology&oldid=692805652"
Categories: Physiology Stress Endocrinesystem
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon28November2015,at12:39.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicenseadditionaltermsmayapply.
Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisaregisteredtrademark
oftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_physiology
2/2