Question

Mandy came home late. As she reached to turn on the kitchen light, her hand brushed against something unexpected. Her adrenal glands, as a part of the "fight-or-flight" response, released epinephrine and norepinephrine, which increased her heart rate and blood pressure. Even after she realized it was just the curtain, her excited feelings lingered. This example illustrates

a. the all-or-none response in neural firing.
b. that a resting axon has gates that block positive sodium ions.
c. how chemicals can amplify or block a neurotransmitter's activity.
d. how the myelin sheath insulates and increases the speed of neural messages.
e. that endocrine messages tend to outlast the effects of neural messages.

Answer 1

The example provided highlights how endocrine messages, specifically the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine, have longer-lasting effects compared to neural messages in a fight-or-flight response. Option e is correct.

Step-by-step explanation:

This scenario illustrates that endocrine messages tend to outlast the effects of neural messages. When Mandy felt an unexpected touch, her sympathetic nervous system was activated, triggering her adrenal glands to release epinephrine and norepinephrine.

These hormones are responsible for the fight-or-flight response, which involves increasing heart rate and blood pressure. The prolonged feeling of excitement even after realizing that it was just the curtain shows the durable effect of the endocrine response compared to the swift, but temporary, neural response.