The

Hypothalamus

By Alexander Specking and Michael Sova

What and where is it?

The small center of the brain also known as the pleasure

and pain center.
This area manages your extreme feelings, such as rage, joy,
aggression and compassion, and your behaviour concerning
these emotions.

Functions
Its mainly responsible for controlling:

Metabolism
Homeostasis (constant internal environment)
Hunger
Thirst
Emotions
Body temperature regulation
Circadian rhythms
Sleep patterns & levels of consciousness, including
fatigue
Blood Pressure

Also controls pituitary gland by secreting, producing

and discharging, hormones. Because of this it has a
great deal of control over many body functions.

How does it carry out the

functions?
Carrying out these functions involves coordinating
the activity of the autonomic nervous system and
the endocrine system, and ultimately influences
several important behaviors.

Exercising Study: Barreto

(2010)

Study led by Brazilian researchers at the

University of Campinas.
They exercised obese rodents and found that
they demonstrated signals of restored satiety
in hypothalamic neurons and less food intake.
In obese animals, exercise increased IL-6 and
IL-10 protein levels in the hypothalamus, and
these molecules were crucial for increasing the
sensitivity of the most important hormones,
insulin and leptin, which control appetite.
Besides burning calories working out also
restores sensitivity of neurons which are
involved in the maintenance of satiety, feeling
full. This sequentially plays a part in reducing
food intake and as a result weight loss.
The way exercise affects ones control of their
body weight has only now been understood.

Depression Study (2008)

Chinese investigators from Hefei and

Dutch researchers in Amsterdam.
Used donated postmortem human brain
tissue.
Hypothalamus of critical significance for
development of symptoms of depression
Corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) cells
in PVN of human hypothalamus central
driving force of the stress response &
hyperactive in depression.
Frozen hypothalami of 7 depressed
patients and 7 controls obtained.
From 16 gene products that were studied,
5 were found to show significant changes.
The molecular changes found may not
only explain hyperactivity of CRF cells but
may also be potential targets for new
therapeutic strategies.

Fear Study: Swanson (2009)

Larry Swanson of University of

Southern California studied brain
activity of rats & mice exposed to rival
rodents or cats defending their
territory.
New perspective on what part of brain
controls fear: hypothalamus, not
amygdala.
Made lesions in hypothalamus resulted
in mice that were not afraid of their
predators anymore.
The study replicated findings for male
rats that wandered into another male's
territory.
Even when losing vs. other male, the
intruders returned.

Possible dysfunctions:
Some of the physical aspects and causes of
Hypothalamic dysfunctions are:
Disordered sleep
Multiple hormonal dysfunctions
Immune dysfunction
Autonomic dysfunction
Altered body temperatures
Head trauma
Tumors
Malnutrition
Infection and swelling