4. Mechanisms of Hormone Regulation and Feedback Loops

Learning Objectives:

  • Explain negative and positive feedback in hormone control.
  • Give examples of feedback loops in the endocrine system.

Overview:

§  To prevent abnormal hormone levels and a potential disease state, hormone levels must be tightly controlled.

§  The body maintains this control by balancing hormone production and degradation. Feedback loops govern the initiation and maintenance of most hormone secretion in response to various stimuli.

§  Hormone secretion is regulated mainly by feedback mechanisms.

§  Feedback loop is a regulatory mechanism in which the output of a process influences its own activity.