hypothalamus

The hypothalamus (: hypothalami; ) is a small part of the vertebrate brain that contains a number of nuclei with a variety of functions. One of the most important functions is to link the nervous system to the endocrine system via the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus is located below the thalamus and is part of the limbic system. It forms the basal part of the diencephalon. All vertebrate brains contain a hypothalamus. In humans, it is about the size of an almond.

AI overview

The hypothalamus is a small, almond-sized part of your brain that acts as a bridge between your nervous system and your endocrine system (which produces hormones), primarily through its connection to the pituitary gland. This makes it crucial for coordinating many of your body's essential functions.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Brain.IsPartOf: Brain
Brain.Name: Hypothalamus
Brain.Latin: hypothalamus
Brain.Image: Hypothalamus.jpg
Brain.Caption: Location of the human hypothalamus
Brain.Image2: Hypothalamus_Pituitary_Complex_diagram.png
Brain.Caption2: Location of the hypothalamus (cyan) in relation to the pituitary and to the rest of the brain

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

188,152 papers

Neuropeptides in the hypothalamus.Vitamins and hormones · 2025
Role of hypothalamus function in metabolic diseases and its potential mechanisms.PeerJ · 2025
Neural connections between the hypothalamus and the liver.The anatomical record. Part A, Discoveries in molecular, cellular, and evolutionary biology · 2004
Vision and the hypothalamus.Optometry (St. Louis, Mo.) · 2010
The pathology of the hypothalamus.Clinics in endocrinology and metabolism · 1977

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image: Hypothalamus.gif

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Commons category: Hypothalamus
NCI Thesaurus ID: C12458

Sources (5)

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~29 min read

Article

22 sections

Contents

Structure
Nuclei
Connections
Sexual dimorphism
Responsiveness to ovarian steroids
Development
Function
Hormone release
Stimulation
Olfactory stimuli
Blood-borne stimuli
Steroids
Neural
Control of food intake
Fear processing
Learning arbitrator
Additional images
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links

The hypothalamus has the function of regulating certain metabolic processes and other activities of the autonomic nervous system. It synthesizes and secretes certain neurohormones, called releasing hormones or hypothalamic hormones, and these in turn stimulate or inhibit the secretion of hormones from the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus controls body temperature, hunger, important aspects of parenting and maternal attachment behaviours, thirst, fatigue, sleep, circadian rhythms, and is important in certain social behaviors, such as sexual and aggressive behaviors.