The brain structure known as the hypothalamus connects these
two important communication systems. The hypothalamus is a tiny
collection of nuclei that is responsible for controlling an
astonishing amount of behavior.
Located at the base of the forebrain, the hypothalamus
regulates basic needs such as sleep, hunger, thirst, and sex in
addition to emotional and stress responses.
The hypothalamus also controls the pituitary glands, which then
controls the release of hormones from other glands in the endocrine
system.
The nervous system is designed to protect us from danger
through its interpretation of and reactions to stimuli. But a
primary function of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous
systems is to interact with the endocrine system to elicit
chemicals that provide another system for influencing our feelings
and behaviors.
A gland in the endocrine system is made up of groups of cells
that function to secrete hormones. A hormone is a chemical that
moves throughout the body to help regulate emotions and
behaviors.
When the hormones released by one gland arrive at receptor
tissues or other glands, these receiving receptors may trigger the
release of other hormones, resulting in a series of complex
chemical chain reactions.
The endocrine system works together with the nervous system to
influence many aspects of human behavior, including growth,
reproduction, and metabolism. And the endocrine system plays a
vital role in emotions.
Because the glands in men and women differ, hormones also help
explain some of the observed behavioral differences between men and
women.
The pituitary gland, a small pea-sized gland located near the
center of the brain, is responsible for controlling the body’s
growth, but it also has many other influences that make it of
primary importance to regulating behavior.
The pituitary secretes hormones that influence our responses to
pain as well as hormones that signal the ovaries and testes to make
sex hormones.
The pituitary gland also controls ovulation and the menstrual
cycle in women. Because the pituitary has such an important
influence on other glands, it is sometimes known as the “master
gland.”
A study about hormonal influences on social-cognitive
functioning found that women were more easily able to perceive and
categorize male faces during the more fertile phases of their
menstrual cycles.