Communicate through Endocrine System

Based in San Jose, California, Yola Dabrowski formerly maintained a chiropractor practice that addressed a variety of spine issues. One of the areas of functional medicine that Yola Dabrowski has studied is the functioning of the endocrine system. This focuses on how hormones affect the brain and how the brain controls the body's hormonal systems.

As a communication system, the endocrine is distinct from the nervous system, which employs chemical signals as neurotransmitters. By contrast, the endocrine system involves neurons within the brain interacting with the brain-controlled pituitary gland. This gland secretes blood factors that react with the endocrine glands such as the thyroid and the pancreas. They influence the boosting or decreasing of specific hormone production.

This feedback loop, involving brain-pituitary-endocrine gland communication, helps define a range of behavioral activities, from eating to responses to stress. It also helps regulate bodily functions such as growth, energy-use, metabolism, and reproduction. This continuum of brain and hormone communication is malleable and evolving, depending on environmental signals.