Mirna is walking home from school and decides to take a shortcut across a small park. As she is walking, a large dog comes running towards her, barking loudly. Mirna is terrified and feels her heart beating hard in her chest and her breathing becomes more erratic. The dog's owner comes over quickly and takes the dog away. Luckily, Mirna is not injured. She then goes home and tells the story to her roommate.
-Which part of Mirna's nervous system was activated while she was sitting on the couch and telling the story to her roommate

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for bringing the body back to its rest and digest state after a perceived threat. In this case, after the dog incident, Mirna's sympathetic nervous system would have been activated causing her heart rate to increase and her breathing to become more erratic to prepare her body for fight or flight. Once the threat was removed, the parasympathetic nervous system would have taken over, bringing her body back to its normal state. Therefore, while she was sitting on the couch and telling the story to her roommate, her parasympathetic nervous system would have been active.

Mirna Is Walking Home from School and Decides to Take