2.2 The Endocrine System

Vocabulary

Endocrine System

The endocrine system is our body’s chemical communication system. It operates through glands that secrete hormones through our bloodstream. These hormones travel to the specified organ and bind to the receptor, where a desired response is created. The pituitary gland, also known as the master gland👑, is located in our brain and is controlled by the hypothalamus. It's in charge of things such as metabolism, emotion, sleep, and blood pressure. As you can tell, it's one of the most important systems in our body. 

Each component of the endocrine system can be located in very different locations:

• Endocrine glands (pineal gland, hypothalamus, and pituitary gland) in your brain
• Thyroid and parathyroids in your neck
• Adrenal glands near your kidney
• Pancreas near your stomach

Hormones

Many hormones operate identically to neurotransmitters; therefore, our endocrine and nervous system work closely with one another. However, since the messages of the endocrine system travel through our bloodstream, they are slower than the fast electrochemical messages of the nervous system. They also last longer than the nervous system, as hormones take a while to dissipate from our bloodstream. Hormones also play a huge role in human development.

The following are part of the endocrine system:

**💡It is important not to just memorize the functions of each, but to understand what is going on. The FRQs on the AP Psychology Exam are all about defining the term and applying it to a situation, so try and make connections between each of these and how they work together as a whole/system. **

Image Courtesy of Open Source Textbook

Practice Question

The following question is from the Advanced Placement YT Channel. All credit is given to College Board. 

Freddy Schmidlap knows he needs to sit down and watch some AP Review videos on Youtube that he missed. But, he is having trouble making himself do so. When he tries, he feels nervous, a bit angry, and, being a teenager, hungry. Explain how the following terms relate to Freddy's situation.

• Epigenetics
• Hypothalamus
• Pancreas

Sample Responses

Epigenetics is the study of how environmental factors influence gene expression. Freddy has an identical twin, named Teddy. Freddy is really nervous about reviewing but Teddy, who is also trying to review, has an elevated stress responses. This is because as a child, he suffered traumatic events, which influenced his gene expression and made him have a different level of stress response.

The hypothalamus is a structure that controls the pituitary gland and helps regulate hunger, thirst, flight or fight, and sex. His hypothalamus is releasing a hormone that is increasing his hunger. This will be 100% more specific once you get deeper in the course. For now, this is what the response could look like.

The pancreas regulates insulin levels and sugar in the blood. After Freddy eats, his body will secrete insulin and maintain his regular level of blood sugar.

Multiple Choice 

Which of the following glands interact(s) most directly with all of the others to help regulate body processes

A. pituitary

B. adrenals

C. parathyroids

D. thyroid

E. ovaries

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Hint: master gland ❗❓

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Answer: A. pituitary 

The pituitary gland, called the "master gland" produces hormones that activate other glands such as adrenals, parathyroids, thyroid and ovaries. 

Conclusion

As you can tell, knowing the EXACT functions and memorizing minute details is not necessary (but it might help you). Mostly, what College Board is looking for is if you can make inferences 🧐 from generalized concepts. Like in the multiple choice question, you didn't necessarily have to know what the pituitary gland did; all you needed to know was that it acted as the "master gland" and you could solve the problem easily.