Neuroendocrinology
Neuroendocrinology is a field of biology that studies the interactions between the nervous system and the endocrine system. That is, how the brain regulates hormonal activity in the body. The nervous and endocrine systems often work together in a process called neuroendocrine integration to regulate the human body's physiological processes. Neuroendocrinology arose from the understanding that the brain, especially the hypothalamus, regulated the secretion of pituitary hormones and then expanded to study the connections between many endocrine and nervous systems. The endocrine system is composed of numerous glands throughout the body that produce and secrete hormones of various chemical structures such as peptides, steroids, and neuroamines. Together, hormones regulate many physiological processes. The nervous endocrine system is the mechanism by which the hypothalamus maintains homeostasis and regulates reproduction, metabolism, eating and drinking behaviour, energy use, osmotic pressure, and blood pressure.