Neuroendocrinology

Neuroendocrinology is the study of the interactions between the Nervous system and the Endocrine system. In the human body, two systems control all physiological processes. One of these systems is neurological while the other is endocrinological. The nervous system exerts point-to-point control through messages to nerves. Nervous control is electrochemical in nature and is very rapid. The most well known neurochemical messages are neurotransmitters; neurotransmitters and other neurochemical messages require a receptor at the target nerve to properly function. The endocrine system broadcasts its messages to essentially all cells by the Secretion of hormones into the blood and extracellular fluids. Some of the secreting structures, importantly the Hypothalamus, are located within the Brain. To respond to endocrinological messages, cells must bear a receptor for the hormone being broadcast. There are many complex feedback mechanisms, both within the nervous and endocrine systems, and between the two systems, all working in tandem. The nervous and endocrine systems act together to regulate the physiological processes of the human body and those intimate interactions constitute neuroendocrinology.