Chapter 37, Problem 1TC

Summary Introduction

To determine:

The way in which panic disorders’ response is controlled and why is such control impractical.

Introduction:

The fight or flight response is controlled by the sympathetic autonomic nervous system. In panic disorders, the patients have a fight or flight response to inappropriate stimuli. Controlling these responses is a way of controlling the panic disorder itself.

Explanation of Solution

A way to control the inappropriate responses in panic disorders is to use drugs that are antagonistic to the neurotransmitter norepinephrine.

The sympathetic nervous system, which results in flight or fight, uses norepinephrine as its neurotransmitter. If drugs are used to inhibit these neurotransmitters, the activity of the sympathetic system can be curbed as impulses would not pass along the neurons. As a result, the inappropriate responses to stimuli would not occur and the panic disorder would be controlled.

However, this has its side effects as it shuts down the complete sympathetic system. Other than the fight and flight situations, it functions in other areas too. Like the increased heart rate to compensate the energy needed while exercising is a doing of the sympathetic nervous system. Thus, such drugs would cause an overall harm to the person.

Hence, controlling the responses in panic disorder is quite impractical.

Another way of treating the panic disorder is to enhance the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system as its functioning is antagonistic to the sympathetic nervous system. However, it is marred by the same impracticality as excess of parasympathetic activity will cause harm to the body by inhibiting the whole sympathetic system.

Conclusion

Anti-norepinephrine drugs or acetylcholine (neurotransmitter of the parasympathetic nervous system) enhancing drug can be used to control the inappropriate responses experienced in panic disorders. However, these solutions are often impractical as they shut down the sympathetic nervous system (which is needed in many other functions than just panic response) completely.