Brain and Endocrine Function

Abstract

A brief review of relationships between brain and pituitary gland is presented. The primary portal plexus of the pituitary and hypothalamic neurones terminating upon these vessels represent the prime mechanism for neural influence upon adenohypophyseal function. The vascular architecture here may also permit a feedback loop from the adenohypophysis to the hypothalamus. Neurones (“final neural components”) are presumed to be responsible for the elaboration of releasing factors (hypophysiotrophins). Influencing these cells is a wide variety of afferent neural circuits with both excitatory and inhibitory components. In addition to the question of identity of many of these circuits, a major problem for future research is the manner in which this diverse neural information is processed into an integrated signal to the final common neurone.