Chapter 49 Lecture Enrichment Ideas
Describe the differences in actions of nonsteroid hormones versus steroid hormones as a function of the kind of chemicals involved, with peptides unable to pass easily through the plasma membrane, while lipid-based steroids easily diffuse through the plasma membrane.
Explain how nonsteroid and steroid hormones act to turn on proteins present in the cytoplasm, as opposed to stimulating the production of new hormones. This affects the length of time required for the response and the stability of the response.
Discuss the mechanism of control of some kinds of endocrine functions (i.e., receptors in the hypothalamus respond to the presence or absence of the final hormone in the sequence, thus turning on or off the regulatory hormones that stimulate the anterior pituitary to release stimulatory hormones).
Discuss how the nervous and endocrine systems interact in regulating the homeostatic mechanisms of the body. The innervation of the adrenal medulla and the action of the brain as a gland serve to blur the lines between what were once considered quite different control systems.
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