Neuroendocrinology is the study of the interaction between the
nervous system and the
endocrine system, including the biological features of the cells involved, and how they communicate. The nervous and endocrine systems often act together in a process called
neuroendocrine integration, to regulate the
physiological processes of the human body. Neuroendocrinology arose from the recognition that the brain, especially the
hypothalamus, controls secretion of
pituitary gland hormones, and has subsequently expanded to investigate numerous interconnections of the endocrine and nervous systems.