Editing Paraventricular nucleus (section)

=== Parvocellular neurosecretory neurons ===

The axons of the [[parvocellular neurosecretory cell|parvocellular]] neurosecretory neurons of the PVN project to the median eminence, a neurohemal organ at the base of the brain, where their neurosecretory nerve terminals release their hormones at the primary capillary plexus of the [[hypophyseal portal system]]. The median eminence contains fiber terminals from many hypothalamic neuroendocrine neurons, secreting different neurotransmitters or neuropeptides, including vasopressin, corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), dopamine (DA) and somatostatin (growth hormone release inhibiting hormone, GIH) into blood vessels in the hypophyseal portal system. The blood vessels carry the peptides to the anterior pituitary gland, where they regulate the secretion of hormones into the systemic circulation. The parvocellular neurosecretory cells include those that make:
* [[Corticotropin-releasing hormone]] (CRH), which regulates [[ACTH]] secretion from the [[anterior pituitary gland]]
* [[Vasopressin]], which also regulates ACTH secretion (vasopressin and CRH act synergistically to stimulate ACTH secretion)
* [[Thyrotropin-releasing hormone]] (TRH), which regulates [[Thyroid-stimulating hormone|TSH]] and [[prolactin]] secretion