The endocrine system plays an important role in our ability to handle stress. Hormone release associated with the stress response can help us to survive and handle crisis situations. However, chronic stress can result in unregulated release of stress hormones that can have negative effects on the brain and our immune systems. For this case assignment, you will prepare a 2-3 page paper in which you:
1.Describe the difference between acute and chronic stressors
2.Describe the stress response and the effects of cortisol release on the human body. (With which division of the nervous system is the stress response associated?)
3.Discuss and label the components of HPA axis and its feedback mechanisms.
4.Discuss the pathologies associated with dysregulation of cortisol, focusing on the brain and the immune system.
Note: This assignment will require you to engage in independent research to learn about diseases of the endocrine system. You may want to begin your search in the book, Human Anatomy and Physiology: Cortisol: Physiology, Regulation, and Health Implications, on your ebrary bookshelf.
Assignment Expectations
Format
Remember that all of your work should be prepared using appropriate format. This link from your course syllabus page will help reinforce formatting expectations: http://www.trident.edu/files/Well-Written-Paper.pdf
Scholarly Content
Your SLP and your case assignments are considered scholarly works. Your final work should include a MINIMUM of 10 peer reviewed (scholarly) sources. This does not mean that you must place 10 peer reviewed sources in each module of your Case/SLP. I anticipate that the nature of the questions which must be answered in this project will result in the accumulation of more than 10 references, but 10 is the minimum number. This means by the end of module 5, I should be able to go back and count AT A MINIMUM a total of 10 scholarly-peer reviewed publications in all of your submitted papers. If you are uncertain what a peer reviewed (scholarly) source is, go tohttp://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/scholarly.pdf
Please keep in mind that you should not use sources such as “Answers.com” or “Wikipedia” or “Wikianswers”. None of these are scholarly sources and they can be “modified” by any registered user which makes it unreliable. It could very well be that those who modify subjects in Wikipedia have a very good knowledge of the subject, however, since we have no way of knowing their credentials or intentions, we cannot guarantee that the source is reliable. It is a good place to start, but should not be used as factual in graduate writing. For graduate study, be sure to stick to peer reviewed journals and scientific sources.
The following site will help: http://www.csuchico.edu/lins/handouts/scholarly.html
Appropriate Headings and Paper Flow
Remember that you are preparing a formal academic paper. Your paper should make use of appropriate headings and subheadings. You should not cut & paste the questions posed and answer them like a “Question and Answer” session. Your finished paper should read like an academic paper.
