Question

May 4th is commonly referred to as “Star Wars” day due to the statement of “May the Fourth be with you” and its aural similarity to “May the force be with you.” Within the Star Wars franchise, those who are imbued with the ability to manipulate the force can, after time, manipulate their physiology to reduce their breathing rate and induce bradycardia (reduced heart rate). This can be explained by specialized molecules called “midichlorians” controlling the autonomic nervous system. Assuming that midichlorians truly exist, which branch of the autonomic nervous system do they affect (sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous system (2pts)), what specific receptor would midichlorians bind to in order to do this (2 pts), and what other effects would occur besides reducing breathing rate and induced bradycardia if they bound to this receptor (List at least three other effects; 2 pts per effect). You should also include the origin of the neurons for this branch (2 pts) and whether the pre or post ganglionic neuron is shorter (2 pts). Would the opposing system be affected, if so, how (4 points)? 2 pts for essay formatting, grammar, spelling.

Answer 1

The physiology is manipulated for reducing breathing rate and bradycardia which leads to reduction in heart rate. The reduction in breathing rate and heart rate is caused due to the midichlorians which tend to control the autonomic nervous system. If these molecules occur in nature, they will impact the parasympathetic nervous system as this is the branch of autonomic nervous system which is responsible for rest and digest response. The PNS tends to produce hormone which helps in reducing the breathing rate by constricting the bronchioles as well as also helps in reducing the heart rate. The main aim of the parasympathetic nervous system is to relax and generate a calm response. It helps in restoring the calmness of the body and it helps in controlling the homeostasis process in the body. The parasympathetic nervous system originates in the spinal cord and medulla and hence helps with the maintenance and slowing down of the body system.

The specific receptor that the midichlorians will bind to bring down the heart rate is the muscarinic receptor. These are the receptors which are located in the heart and as the midichlorians bind to these receptors, it tends to reduce the heart rate and hence slows the heart rate. It is specially the M2 muscarinic receptors, located in the heart that helps in reducing heart rate and it also helps in slowly reducing the rate of breathing.

The three other impacts as the molecule binds to these receptors are:-

i) As they bind to the M3 muscarinic receptors which are located within blood vessel endothelial cells and lungs, it promotes bronchoconstriction and vasodilation. Hence it helps in dilating the smooth muscles.

ii) As they bind to the receptors, it also activates the salivary glands and hence helps in secretion by the salivary glands.

iii) It also helps in increasing the bladder contraction as these receptors are also located within the detrusor muscles along with urothelium muscles within the bladder.

The neurons in the parasympathetic nervous system originate from the medulla oblongata and they helps in managing the central nervous system. There are different types of nerves which form a part of the parasympathetic nervous system including facial nerve, oculomotor nerve, vagus nerve etc. Some of the cranial nerve arise from specific nuclei that is present in the central nervous system. The pre-ganglionic nerve fibers are long and the post-ganglionic fibers are short in the parasympathetic nervous system.