Stress which refers to responses biological or psychological that an individual experiences when facing a threat which the resources to deal with are limited or unavailable affects homeostasis. The natural balancing of the body systems is important and hence specific hormones, glands and systems are assigned the roles of ensuring the balance is maintained. Stress, short or long term affects body balance by increasing the heart rate, increase in breathing, the release of glucose by the liver for energy or a decrease in the digestion (McLeod, 2010). The endocrine system interacts with the nervous system- automatic nervous system to regulate and control stress through a series of chemical reactions.
The endocrine system in its vital role of emotions regulations through hypothalamus activated in a stressful situation. It sends signals to the pituitary gland and the adrenal glands to produce adrenaline for short-term stress and response to threat through the fight or flight reaction through the Sympathomedullary Pathway (SAM) (McLeod, 2010). The adrenal medulla activated by the hypothalamus is part of the automatic nervous system which is the body control system for homeostasis maintenance in the body (McLeod, 2010. Long-term stress is controlled by the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) System through the secretion of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). ACTH acts as a stimulator of the adrenal glands to yield the hormone corticosteroid. This hormone enables the body to stabilize supplies of blood sugar and this assists a person to cope with lengthy stress and until the body to returns to the normal state (McLeod, 2010).
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Continuous research studies in neurotransmitters and hormones have shown that the differences between the two are defined. However, it has also been proven substances can act as neurotransmitters in one region of the brain and assume the role of hormones in another region. Examples of such substances are vasopressin and oxytocin (McLeod, 2010). The two are majorly peptide hormones released by the pituitary and function as neurotransmitters at the central synapses.
References
McLeod, S. A. (2010). What is the stress response? Simply Psychology. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/stress-biology.html
