Facts about the hypothalamus

Are you hot right now? Cold? Maybe you're like Goldilocks and are just right. What about your height? Are you tall? Average? Short? Maybe your metabolism is lightning fast and you're always hungry, or maybe it's a bit slow and you stay full longer. All of these—regardless of which one you identify with—are regulated by the endocrine system.

(Hypothalamus and pituitary, highlighted in blue)

I'm going to be throwing a lot of information at you, dear reader, so brace yourself!

Hormone Reaction Regulation

It’s no secret your brain is one busy place—neurons move at incredible speeds, synapses are constantly firing, blood is pumping, and glands are producing hormones. These glands, specifically the hypothalamus and pituitary, are working all the time to keep your body running at optimal performance. Every hormone the endocrine system releases follows a basic set-up: a signal is received, hormones are secreted, and the target cell undergoes changes to its basic functions.

Hypothalamus

The almond-sized hypothalamus is located below the thalamus and sits just above the brainstem. All vertebrate brains have a hypothalamus. Its primary function is to maintain homeostasis (stability of the internal environment) in the body.

The hypothalamus links the nervous and endocrine systems by way of the pituitary gland. Its function is to secrete releasing hormones and inhibiting hormones that stimulate or inhibit (like their names imply) production of hormones in the anterior pituitary. Specialized neuron clusters called neurosecretory cells in the hypothalamus produce the hormones Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH) and Oxytocin (OXT), and transport them to the pituitary, where they're stored for later release.

Think of the hypothalamus as the pituitary's older sibling—it not only controls the actions of the pituitary but it secretes at least nine hormones to the pituitary's seven.

Pituitary Gland

Attached to the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland is a pea-sized, reddish-gray body that stores hormones from the hypothalamus and releases them into the bloodstream. The pituitary consists of an anterior lobe and a posterior lobe, each of which have distinct functions.

Pituitary: Anterior Lobe (Adenohypophysis)