Hi MinahilMehr 🙂
That sounds like a super mean question since the enteric system isn't listed on the study design as a key term or division of the nervous system you need to know. However, it plays a role in the gut-brain axis, which is a new addition to the study design. This is also the "with reference to an example" that I think the question is asking for!
Basically, the enteric nervous system is capable of independently regulating some gastroentorological (fancy word for digestive stuff in the stomach and intestines!) processes without having to go via the central nervous system (CNS). This resource is way more detailed than you need for VCE Psych, but skim-reading this should help with the basics!
But the enteric NS also sometimes interacts with the CNS for other functions, such as in the gut-brain axis, which is a bidirectional connection between the digestive/intestinal tract (the 'gut') and the brain, in particular our hormones and neurotransmitters that regulate behaviour.
VCAA calls this an "emerging area of research" which is code for "no one is 100% sure how this works yet!" but an easy way to think about this is that the gut can influence the brain and the brain can influence the gut. For example:
The gut contains microbiota which release hormones/neurotransmitters that can impact stress levels.
Mental processes in the brain can be 'felt' in the gut - think about how feelings of nervousness can be experienced in the form of 'butterflies in the stomach.'
There are all sorts of back-and-forth links in this axis, but the takeaway message is that although the enteric nervous system is part of the ANS, it is not entirely independent from the CNS.
Hope that helps!! There are quite a few tricky new things added to the 2023 new Psych study design so let us know if you have any other questions 😊
