Parasympathetic nervous system plays which role?

• A. Calms the body, conserving its energy
• B. Speeds up heart rate
• C. Activates fight-or-flight responses
• D. Increases digestive enzyme production only during meals

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that the parasympathetic system handles rest-and-digest functions, calming the body and conserving energy. It slows the heart rate, promotes digestion and energy storage, and supports maintenance activities when the body is at rest. This makes the option describing calming the body and conserving energy the best answer. The other choices reflect sympathetic responses—speeding up the heart and triggering fight-or-flight—and the idea that digestion happens only during meals is too narrow, since parasympathetic activity supports digestion broadly, not just at mealtime.