BY2EN1 Endocrinology Introduction to Hypothalamus and Pituitary (week 2) Please make sure you have done any of the asynchronous work required before the synchronous session to make the most of it! When you are watching recordings, please do pause and make notes as well as clarifying things that you don't understand. The slides are all available on Blackboard. Asynchronously before the lecture Watch the recording entitled "1 - The Hypothalamus". This will introduce the hypothalamus, and convey how its anatomy and physiology are essential parts of most endocrine loops Label the diagram entitled 'Hypothalamus student copy' which can be found in BlackBoard in the Week 2 folder in 'Learning and Teaching Activities' so you can try to identify the key areas/nuclei of the hypothalamus J Watch the recording entitled "2 - The Pituitary Gland". This will introduce the pituitary gland, the two lobes and their role in feedback loops, and will identify the tropic hormones that are essential for normal endocrinological function Synchronous session - Date TBC Attend the synchronous session (and take part!).
Hypothalamus lecture: After this lecture students should: 1. Understand how the anatomy of the hypothalamus contributes to its endocrine function 2. Be able to describe an endocrine axis including the releasing hormones that are involved in it 3. Be able to name a variety of releasing hormones and the functions they are involved in The Brain: · Can be divided into lobes · Can also be divided into higher and lower centres · Higher centres include: o Basal Ganglia, cerebellum, cerebrum (including cortex and limbic system)tt these are involved in higher functions such as voluntary control, planning, imitation and motor control. · Lower centres include: o Brain stem (medulla, pons and midbrain), thalamus and hypothalamustt involved in simple reflexes or autonomic (unconscious) control. . Higher centres are important because they can stimulate the hypothalamus; they can be the stimulus that switches on/off an endocrine system. Cerebral cortex Cerebral cortex Basal nuclei (lateral to thalamus) Basal nuclei Thalamus (medial) Thalamus Hypothalamus Hypothalamus Cerebellum Cerebellum Midbrain Brain stem Brain stem Pons Spinal cord Medulla D Cengage Learning
Hypothalamus: · Region below the thalamus in the brain. . The hypothalamus is part of the brain, but it is not entirely behind the blood brain barrier. The blood brain barrier is a highly selective, partially permeable barrier that protects the CNS from the periphery, so only certain compounds are allowed past the BBB into the CNS so that it can carry out its function. . This is important as the hypothalamus is constantly checking compound levels in the blood, therefore it cannot be behind BBB because it has to carry out its function of testing what is in the circulation. · Hypothalamus is composed of a number of discrete areas called 'nuclei', which are groups of neurones that share a function and therefore will control a certain part of physiologytt for example the arcuate nucleus is involved in appetite and satiety (fullness). · There are 3 ways in which the