Typical panic responses in phobia

The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls the body’s internal environment by sending impulses from the central nervous system to the peripheral organs. The ANS is subdivided into the sympathetic nervous system (red) and parasympathetic nervous systems (grey). The sympathetic nervous system, which starts in the hypothalamus, is most active in times of stress, and stimulation of the peripheral organs (blue) produces a panic response (yellow).

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References

Autonomic nervous system. In: Neuroscience at a glance. Barker RA, Barasi S, with Neuropharmacology by Neal MJ. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1999: 36–39.