GAS

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What does Seyle's GAS describe?
How the body adapts to stressors
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What did he notice as a doctor?
Patients with a variety of illnesses all shared certain symptoms
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What did he notice later in his career?
While researching the effects of hormones on rats he noticed that they too shared certain response
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To what?
regardless of the hormone they were given
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What did these observations led him to develop?
The theory
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How?
By exposing rats to various stressors
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Such as what?
Extreme temperatures and surgical injury
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What did he measure?
their physiological responses
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What did his findings result in?
Three stages of GAS
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What is the first stage of GAS?
alarm stage
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What does the stressor activate?
The hypothalamus
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What did this trigger?
The hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis and the autonomic nervous system
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What does the ANS cause?
The production of adrenaline which leads to readiness for fight or flight
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What physiological reactions are included?
Heart and breathing rates and a release of sugars to generate energy
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What is the second stage of GAS?
Resistance
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What happens if the stressor persists?
The body continues producing adrenaline and cortisol
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How does the body attempt to adapt to the stressor?
The parasympathetic nervous system cuts in and the body appears to cope
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What happens when the hormone levels take their toll?
The body's ability to resist diminishes.
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What do physiological reactions?
They include increase blood pressure, and sugars are now stored to conserve energy
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What is heavily involved in the first two stages?
The HPA axis
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What is the third stage of GAS?
Exhaustion
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What happens if the stressor persist?
hormone levels remain high, the body can no longer cope
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What are physiological reactions?
Damaged adrenal glands and a weakened immune system
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What happens as a result?
Defences become less effective and stree related illnesses can occur
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Such as?
Heart disease and ulcers
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What happened to Seyle's rats?
They died
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What does GAS suggest?
Stress is a biological response caused by changes in hormone levels
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What did he notice as a doctor?

Back

Patients with a variety of illnesses all shared certain symptoms

Card 3

Front

What did he notice later in his career?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

To what?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

What did these observations led him to develop?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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