Posted by SLS on February 25, 2009, at 8:10:11
In reply to neurotransmitters and eye dialation, posted by Garnet71 on February 24, 2009, at 22:04:43
Great questions.
> This is going to sound silly, but I really need to know.
>
> If your pupils are smaller than normal1. Maybe chronic "fight or flight" state. Overactive sympathetic nervous system and/or underactive parasympathetic nervious system.
> If your pupils are larger than normal
2. Maybe chronic "eat and have sex" state. Overactive parasympathetic nervous system and/or underactive sympathetic nervious system.
In many cases of depression, I believe that there is a depressive state I call "dysautonomia" (not to be confused with the dysautonomia disease), which skews things in the direction of too much sympathetic and too little parasympathetic tone. Another pet theory of mine. I don't know if you will find too much support for this idea as stated other than looking at the somatic symptoms of depression. In such a state of autonomic imbalance, I would expect to see small pupils, dry mouth, cold hands and feet, goose-bumps, dizziness, teeth clenching, increased heart rate, heart palpitations, constipation, anxiety, sweating, and other stuff that are part of the fight or flight response.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:882278
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/neuro/20090129/msgs/882347.html