BAT Bets on Vaping as Tobacco Giants Battle With New Devices. Trailing Philip Morris International Inc. in the contest to move smoking alternatives beyond e-cigarettes is just fine with British American Tobacco Plc. According to Kingsley Wheaton, head of BATâs next-generation products, longer-established electronic smokes hold more promise than the heat-not-burn technology pioneered by its main rival.
Fear or excitement causes signals to travel to the hypothalamus, which triggers a rapid heartbeat, faster breathing, widening of the pupils, and increased blood flow. The hypothalamus monitors blood glucose levels and the body's water content to regulate appetite for food or drink.
Quick Answer. Involuntary activities are controlled by the autonomous nervous system, whose main component is a part of the brain stem called the medulla oblongata. This system, as a subset of the peripheral nervous system, functions outside the brain and spinal cord and is composed of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The medulla oblongata directly controls heartbeat, blood pressure, breathing and digestion. The sympathetic nervous system controls the body's fight-or-flight response, which quickly increases blood flow and breathing rate in response to danger or excitement. The parasympathetic nervous system does the opposite; it reverses the changes done by the sympathetic nervous system in order to calm the body, although its response is slower and occurs over the course of a few minutes.