Hypothalamus

Hypothalamus
Location of the human hypothalamus
Location of the hypothalamus (cyan) in relation to the pituitary and to the rest of the brain
Details
Part of	Brain
Identifiers
Latin	hypothalamus
MeSH	D007031
NeuroLex ID	birnlex_734
TA98	A14.1.08.401 A14.1.08.901
TA2	5714
FMA	62008
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy [edit on Wikidata]

The hypothalamus (pl.: hypothalami; from Ancient Greek ὑπό (hupó) 'under', and θάλαμος (thálamos) 'chamber') is a small part of the 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.^[1] It forms the ventral part of the diencephalon. All vertebrate brains contain a hypothalamus.^[2] In humans, it is the size of an almond.^{[citation needed]}

The hypothalamus is responsible for 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,^[3] fatigue, sleep, circadian rhythms, and is important in certain social behaviors, such as sexual and aggressive behaviors.^[4][5]