Which example best illustrates negative feedback in a physiological process?

Which example best illustrates negative feedback in a physiological process?

• A. Regulation of body temperature by sweating and shivering
• B. Oxytocin-induced labor contractions
• C. Childbirth
• D. Lactation in response to infant suckling

Answer: (A)

Negative feedback in physiology keeps conditions stable by reversing changes away from a set point. In regulating body temperature, the body detects a deviation from the normal temperature and activates responses that oppose that change. If temperature rises, sweating and heat-dissipation processes occur to cool the body back toward the set point. If temperature falls, shivering and mechanisms that conserve or generate heat kick in to raise it back up. This opposing, corrective action is the hallmark of a negative feedback loop, aiming to restore equilibrium. The other scenarios illustrate positive feedback, where the response amplifies the initial change—for example, labor contractions intensify as the process proceeds, leading to birth, and the lactation system can amplify milk ejection in response to infant suckling.

Negative feedback in physiology keeps conditions stable by reversing changes away from a set point. In regulating body temperature, the body detects a deviation from the normal temperature and activates responses that oppose that change. If temperature rises, sweating and heat-dissipation processes occur to cool the body back toward the set point. If temperature falls, shivering and mechanisms that conserve or generate heat kick in to raise it back up. This opposing, corrective action is the hallmark of a negative feedback loop, aiming to restore equilibrium.

The other scenarios illustrate positive feedback, where the response amplifies the initial change—for example, labor contractions intensify as the process proceeds, leading to birth, and the lactation system can amplify milk ejection in response to infant suckling.