This video, we're going to be talking about the endocrine system. So the endocrine system is a network of glands that release hormones into the bloodstream, and hormones are essentially just chemicals that travel outside the nervous system. Okay, so these are chemicals that are traveling through our circulatory system and they basically enable the brain to regulate the body in a different way than our nervous system does. So the endocrine system is going to be transmitting information much more slowly than the nervous system, but it will usually have more lasting effects. Like we've talked about, things in the nervous system happen very, very quickly, right?
Almost instantaneously. But when hormones get released into our bloodstream they can have effects for hours or even days afterward. So we're going to go over just some of the major glands in our endocrine system as well as the general effect that they can have on our body. I am going to mention a few hormones here but I want you to focus more on understanding the names of the glands and the basic effect that they have. That's a bit more important at this level.
So, first up, we have the pituitary gland, and the pituitary gland is located in the brain. And this is often thought of as, like, the master gland. And the pituitary is basically going to be sending out signals and controlling all of the other glands in the endocrine system. So it being up in the brain kind of makes sense to say. I think of, like, the brain is basically in charge of everything anyway, and the pituitary gland is kind of in charge of all the other hormones.
Next, we have our thyroid gland which is located kind of like in the throat area, and the thyroid is really important for regulating energy and metabolism. So if you've ever known a person who has hypothyroidism, what's happening there is that their thyroid is not producing enough thyroid hormones, and that can lead to a lack of energy as well as a slower metabolism that causes them to gain weight. Next, we have the pancreas and the pancreas is located kind of like underneath the liver, and the pancreas regulates blood sugar levels. So if we have some kind of dysregulation or dysfunction of the pancreas, that could lead to something like diabetes.
But just in pretty much every single person, if the pancreas is not functioning properly and our blood sugar is thrown off, we're going to end up with all kinds of effects on our body, like our overall health, but also our cognitive function and behavior. Having regulated blood sugar is very important for how the brain works in general. Next up, we have the adrenal glands and these are located right on the tippy top of the kidneys and the adrenal glands release stress hormones, things like adrenaline and cortisol. So adrenal obviously sounds quite a bit like adrenaline. And of course, we've talked before about how adrenaline is really important for our fight or flight response.
So, the adrenal glands can trigger the release of adrenaline which will help us with that fight or flight response if we are encountering a threat. And then finally we have the ovaries and testes. Of course, ovaries would be in females and testes would be in males, and these are going to be releasing sex hormones, things like androgens and estrogens. And of course, sex hormones are very important for our reproductive function, but they are also important for our general health as well as our behavior. Alright, so that is our little endocrine system in a nutshell and I will see you guys in our next video. Bye bye!
