Riya, a Class 12 student in Jaipur, shares a crowded hostel room with three other girls. The room stays noisy late into the night and becomes very hot in summer. Riya is preparing for her board examinations. On the morning of her first paper, she waits outside the examination hall. Her heart starts pounding, her breathing becomes fast and her palms begin to sweat. Over the past month she has also had headaches, poor sleep and sudden mood swings, and she has started missing her coaching classes.
Which of the following sequences correctly shows how Riya's body produces the physiological changes she feels outside the examination hall?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Hypothalamus, autonomic nervous system, adrenal gland releasing catecholamines, fight-or-flight changes
Option (1) Autonomic nervous system, hypothalamus, adrenal gland releasing catecholamines, fight-or-flight changes — Incorrect. The order of the first two steps is reversed. The hypothalamus starts the action, and the autonomic nervous system is the pathway it uses.
Option (2) Hypothalamus, pituitary gland, adrenal gland releasing catecholamines, fight-or-flight changes — Incorrect. The pituitary gland belongs to the <strong>second pathway</strong>. It secretes cortisol, which provides energy; it is not the route that leads to catecholamines and the fight-or-flight changes.
Option (3) Adrenal gland releasing catecholamines, hypothalamus, autonomic nervous system, fight-or-flight changes — Incorrect. The adrenal gland cannot come first. It acts only after the hypothalamus has started the action through the autonomic nervous system.
Option (4) Hypothalamus, autonomic nervous system, adrenal gland releasing catecholamines, fight-or-flight changes — Correct. Riya's pounding heart and fast breathing are <strong>fight-or-flight</strong> changes. The <strong>hypothalamus starts the action</strong>; its first pathway runs through the autonomic nervous system, and the adrenal gland then releases catecholamines into the blood.
NCERT (2026-27): “Nature of Stress … |