Final answer:
The statement regarding parasympathetic stimulation's major contribution to total peripheral resistance is false. The sympathetic nervous system, not the parasympathetic system, primarily modulates vascular tone and arteriolar resistance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that parasympathetic stimulation of arterioles is a major contributor to total peripheral resistance is false. Instead, the sympathetic nervous system plays a more significant role in regulating vascular tone, particularly regarding arterioles. While parasympathetic activation typically decreases heart rate and cardiac output, it does not directly cause significant changes in arteriole constriction to affect total peripheral resistance. In fact, a reduction in sympathetic stimulation is what allows arterioles to dilate and consequently decrease resistance. Conversely, increased sympathetic activity leads to vasoconstriction, raising total peripheral resistance and thereby increasing blood pressure.
It is important to note that arterioles are normally in a partially constricted state due to sympathetic tone. Significant increase in arteriole diameter, and thus a reduction in resistance, requires suppression of sympathetic stimulation, not parasympathetic activation. Therefore, the autonomic control of arteriolar resistance primarily involves the modulation of sympathetic activity rather than parasympathetic.