system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Does Adrenaline really reduce reaction time?

I've always heard that in a stressful "fight or flight" situation, reaction time is reduced (in addition to increased strength, etc.); that being said it seems like the sort of thing that could be a myth or widespread misinformation.


I suppose the exact question I have is: Does adrenaline reduce reaction time and if so how, and by how much?
gpt
In essence yes, the sympathetic nervous system ("fight or flight") can speed reaction time to danger through this non-exhaustive list of mechanisms: dilation of the pupil allows for increased sensory awareness; increased blood flow into skeletal muscle allows for faster and more sustained muscular responses; finally the increase of the stress hormone cortisol has an effect in "priming" the brain to be hyper-aware of the surroundings, thus decreasing reaction time when a stimulus does occur. This is actually a really interesting direct connection between psychology and physiology.