Multiple Choice
In the context of physiological feedback loops, is blood clotting an example of positive feedback or negative feedback?
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1. Introduction to Anatomy & Physiology
Feedback Loops: Positive Feedback
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Ori overhears his study partners discussing a feedback loop where Substance M is released, and the more Substance M is released the more is generated. They note that humans don't release Substance M all the time, only when the pathway is activated. What type of feedback loop is this and why?
A
Negative feedback because it's the most common.
B
Negative feedback because the process is returning the body to the set point.
C
Positive feedback because the amount of the substance is increasing.
D
Positive feedback because the process increasingly moves away from the starting condition.
Verified step by step guidance1
Identify the key characteristics of the feedback loop described: Substance M is released, and its release leads to more of it being generated.
Understand the definition of a positive feedback loop: In positive feedback, the output of a system acts to enhance or amplify changes, moving the system further away from its starting condition.
Contrast this with negative feedback, where the output of a system acts to reduce or dampen changes, helping to maintain stability or return to a set point.
Apply these definitions to the scenario: Since the release of Substance M leads to more of it being generated, this indicates an amplification of the process, characteristic of positive feedback.
Conclude that the feedback loop is positive because the process increasingly moves away from the starting condition, rather than returning to a set point.
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