fight or flight

• When someone is threatened the body responds by preparing for action (e.g fighting or running away) this is called the fight or flight response. The hypothalamus helps coordinate this response.
• The amygdala responds to the sensory input and connects it to emotions associated with the fight or flight response (e.g fear or anger).
• amygdala sends distress signals to the hypothalamus. In the initial shock the hypothalamus triggers activity in the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system
• activity of the sympathetic branch in ANS stimulates the adrenal medulla within the adrenal glands, which releases adrenaline and noradrenaline into the bloodstream.
• Heart rate and blood pressure increase to get blood quickly to areas of the body where it's needed for respiration during activity.
• Breathing rate increases so that more oxygenated blood can be sent to muscles. Pupil size increases so more light can enter the eye for clearer vision.
• When the threat has passed the parasympathetic dampens down the stress response, slowing down heartbeat and reducing blood pressure. It also allows digestion to begin again
• ‘Tend and Befriend response for females’ Taylor et al suggest that for females, behavioural responses to stress are more characterised by a pattern of tend and befriend than fight or flight. This involves protecting themselves and their young through nurturing behaviours and forming protective alliances. Women having a different system for coping with stress may be because their response evolved in the context of being a primary caregiver of their children.
• There may also be a freeze response’ Gray argues that the first phase of reaction to a threat is not to fight or flee but to avoid confrontation. He suggests that prior to responding with attacking or running away, most animals typically display the ‘freeze response’