Hypothalamus Gland Hormones Research Paper

Hypothalamus Gland Hormones and Their Functions

Katherine M. Gaub

Western Dakota Tech

Hypothalamus Gland Hormones and Their Functions

The Hypothalamus gland is responsible for regulating certain metabolic processes and other activities of the autonomic nervous system such as, controlling the body temperature, hunger, thirst, fatigue, sleep, attachment behavior, and circadian rhythms. This gland, which is about the size of an almond, is located at the base of the brain and is near the Pituitary gland and just below the thalamus. The Hypothalamus contains neurons that are responsible for releasing different hormones. The hormones that are secreted are; Gonadotropin releasing hormone, Thyrotropin releasing hormone, Corticotropin releasing hormone,

(Campbell, 2009) The portal blood, which is carried by veins and don’t go straight to the heart, carries the gonadotropin to the pituitary gland. Here it triggers its own receptor which then goes on to activate calcium and protein kinase C. The activity of gonadotropin is very low during childhood, and starts up during puberty or adolescence. During the time that a persons’ reproductive years there is a pulse activity that is crucial for having successful reproductive function. Although, after the pregnancy is official, the gonadotropin occurrences are no longer needed.

The next hormone is thyrotropin, which is another releasing hormone. It is actually produced by the pituitary gland but, the hypothalamus gland regulates its production. This is the part of the brain that is accountable for maintain body temperature, thirst and hunger. It triggers a thyroid-stimulating hormone and prolactin to be released from the anterior pituitary. This hormone has been used to clinically treat spinocerebellar degeneration and disturbance of consciousness in humans. (Zhang,

It is like a transmitter in the brain and is important for the signals that it sends to the central nervous system and according to the article I found on Functions of Dopamine, “it is what allows information to be passed from one neuron to another”. (Functions of Dopamine, 2018) Some of the functions of dopamine are; motor activity, cognition, emotion, and reward. There are also disorders that are associated with having a low amount of dopamine such as depression and movement disorders. Some of the more serious disorders are schizophreniz, ADHD, OCD, Tourette’s syndrome, and drug abuse. Then if there is a death of dopamine neurons it causes Parkinson’s disease, where a person is robbed of the ability to have smooth and controlled movements. Actor, Michael J Fox, is someone who suffers from this disease and has since become a huge advocate for research to find a cure and has also created the Michael J Fox