Role of Hormones in Human Sexuality

A hormone is a chemical substance of an endocrine gland. Endocrine glands,

which are also called ductless glans, deposites the hormones into the blood
stream. The blood, on its turn, carries the hormones to every part of the body.
The sex hormones are estrogen and testosterone. Like all hormones, they are
chemical messengers, substances produced in one part of the body that go on
to tell other parts what to do. Both women and men produce both estrogen
and testosterone, though in different quantities, and both sexes produce less as
they age. These hormones seems to affect arousability by altering the
threshold for erotic stimulation.
They act:
centrally - by determining the amount of change in arousal produced by a
given stimulus;
peripherally - by determining the amount of receptor response to a
stimulus.
In most animal species the brain controls and regulates sexual behavior
primarily by means of hormones. Man and other primates are exceptions to
this role because he depends on personal experience and cultural aspects than
its does on hormones. However, hormones seems to affect arousability by
altering the threshold for erotic stimulation, regardless of weather the
threshold in question is one of peripheral tissue sensitivity.

The hypophysis, also called

pituitary, is the master endocrine
gland. It secretes a large number of
important hormones involved in the
control of many body functions. The
targets of many of its hormones are
other endocrine glands. It releases a
number of hormones for a
particular gland, which then picks
up the hormone from the blood stream and is roused into activity as a result
of the "message" from the pituitary.
This gland releases the hormone for a particular gland, which then picks up
the hormone from the blood stream and is roused into activity as a result of
the "message" from the hypophysis. This gland than produces its own
hormone and discharge it into the blood stream. The activity of the
hypophysis gland is controlled by chemical factors that are produced by

neuroendocine cells in the brain and are passed along to it through a series of
special blood vessels, the pituitary portal system.
The chemical factors released by neuroendocrine cells in the hypothalamus
travel through this blood system to the pituitary and stimulate the release of
pituitary hormones into the general blood circulation.

Hypothalamus
The hypothalamus, located in the brain directly above the hypophysis, is
known to exert control over it by means of neural connections and hormonelike substances that are called releasing factors, the means by which the
nervous system controls sexual behavior via the endocrine system.
Sexual behavior is influenced by the hypothalamus. It stimulates the pituitary
gland to release the sex hormones. When levels of those hormones falls, so
does sexual desire.

Feedback control of production of

gonadal hormones. The hypothalamus
stimulates the hypophysis to release
hormone into the blood that is circulating
through the body. This hormone is picked
up by the ovary or the testis, which is
thereby stimulated to release a gonadal
hormone into the blood stream. the
gonadal hormone is detected by the
pituitary and the hypothalamus, which are
thereby inhibited from releasing more
pituitary hormone.