Selye demonstrated that other factors could influence or condition the course of the GAS. “The
term conditioning factors is used in connection with the GAS to designate circumstances which influence
the course of this syndrome but are not necessarily apart of it.” (7) For example, the release of
adrenaline and mineral corticoids, both a part of the GAS, causes a rise in blood pressure. If
sodium is abundant in the circulation, the rise in blood pressure will be more dramatic. The
presence of sodium in circulation conditions the GAS. (7)
Selye also observed that adaptation itself could condition the course of the GAS. (8) For example,
if an organism is adapted to cold and starvation is added to the equation, the response to
starvation will be more severe than it would otherwise be.