Summary of readings

Based on this week’s readings:

What is homeostasis? How is the newer concept of allostasis (introduced in Ch. 1 in Sapolsky’s book) different?
The stress response is an adaption shaped through our evolutionary history. How is the stress response beneficial to survival for a zebra or humans in pre-modern times? Why is the stress response bad in our modern times?
What are the functions of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems? In which situation do you expect to engage one over the other?
How does endocrine signaling compare to nerve signaling? What are the differences and similarities between them?
Make a drawing/diagram of the HPA axis. In your diagram, indicate the glands and the hormones involved, also use arrows to indicate which hormones control the secretion of other hormones in the HPA axis.
The adrenal gland has two parts, the medulla produces adrenaline (epinephrine) while the cortex produces cortisol. What is the difference between these hormones in terms of: how the travel in the blood, whether they activate intracellular or cell-surface receptors, the timing of the response, and the purpose of these hormones from an evolutionary perspective.