Posted by Donna (63.26.214.131) on October 14, 2000 at 22:35:09:
In Reply to: Food for thought - posted by Bennie Sue on October 14, 2000 at 18:50:23:
The following information is from notes taken during a
Anatomy & Physiology class. It doesn't give a physical
description . What I've posted is just a brief run-
down of it's involvement with hormones and the pituitary.
The hypothalamus is located inferior to the thalamus. It
is divided into a dozen or so nuclei in four major regions.
It controls many body activities.
Sensory input from the external and internal environments
ultimately comes to the hypothalamus via sensory pathways
originating in somatic and visceral sense organs. Impluses
from sound, taste and smell receptors all reach the hypo-
thalamus. The hypothalamus has several very important
connections with the pituitary gland and also produces
a variety of hormones. The hypothalamus has 6 chief
functions. They are:
Control of the autonomic nervous system. It is the
main regulator of heart rate, movement of food through
the gastrointestinal tract, and contraction of the urinary
bladder.
Control of the pituitary gland.
Regulation of emotional and behavioral patterns (feelings
of rage, aggression, pain, and pleasure and behavioral
patterns of sexual arousal.
Regulation of eating and drinking.
Control of body temperature
Regulation of diurnal rhythms and states of consciousness.
(establishes patterns of sleep that occur on a diurnal, or
daily, schedule.
The hypothalamus is the major integrating link between the
nervous and endocrine systems.
The hypothalamus and pituitary gland regulate virtually all
aspects of growth, development, metabolism and homeostasis.
Hormones of the anterior pituitary gland are controlled by
releasing or inhibiting hormones produced by the hypothal-
amus.
Hormones made by the hypothalamus and stored in the posterior
pituitary gland are oxytocin(OT), which stimulates contraction
of the uterus and ejection of milk, and antidiuretic hormone
(ADH) which stimulates water reabsorption by the kidneys and
arteriole constriction. ADH is also know as vasopressin.