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Sensations of hunger, thirst, sexual attraction, and love can dominate our thoughts to the exclusion of almost everything else, but until the last 10 years or so, the precise reasons why these passions arise have not been understood very well. We now know that these, and other drives like the urge to sleep, are controlled by a small portion of the brain called the hypothalamus. This book presents the latest information about how the brain controls our most basic drives. In a series of fascinating anecdotes, Young tells the tale of how scientists have discovered the role of the hypothalamus in our basic drives and in medical conditions in which these drives are drastically altered. Covering our need for food, water, sex, sleep, and other life essentials, he reveals the brain’s part in how we provide for each, and how in some cases, those needs can swing wildly out of control resulting in problems such as obesity, diabetes, insomnia, or narcolepsy. He shows how regulating body temperature can affect the lifespan, how the aging process affects sexual behavior, how empathy and love develop in relationships with family members or with love interests, and how all these functions and more can go awry. Like other science writers before him, Young illuminates even the complex inner workings of the brain in a way that anyone can understand, so that readers are treated to a tour of a tiny part of the brain that is responsible for so many fundamental aspects of life.
Hunger, Thirst, Sex and Sleep: How the Brain Controls Our Passions, by John K. Young, provides an enlightening look at the regulatory function of the hypothalamus, disorders which affect its function, and the affects of hypothalamic activity on physical, emotional and social development. The book is well-written and the author is clearly passionate and incredibly knowledgeable about the topics explained in the book. His selection of topics for the book, and subtopics within each chapter, are clearly choices related to personal interest and experience, and are often disproportionate to the amount of public interest or availability of information. The book is well laid-out, concise but deeply informative and is not encumbered with technical language or jargon, but is in some ways overly generalized or simplistic. Young's deep interest in the disorder anorexia nervosa gives structure and continuity to the book while exploring each of the main functions of the hypothalamus, however, a preoccupation with disorders of each system becomes somewhat redundant as the book progresses.General LayoutThe book divides the activity of the hypothalamus into four discrete functions: control of hunger, thirst and body temperature, sex and emotions, and sleep. Additional chapters are devoted to control of hormones, anatomy and final thoughts on ethics of animal research. Each chapter begins with an overview of the structures, hormones and functions involved in each area. Young then explains various disorders involved in each function, i.e. obesity, insomnia, etc., in varying levels of detail.HungerThe first section of the book details the anatomy of the hypothalamus as well as control of hunger. Young describes the location of the hypothalamus posterior to the optic chiasm and anterior to the mammillary bodies. He then goes on to detail how the hypothalamus senses calorie intake and regulates hunger. It is clear that hypothalamic damage causes humans to gain enormous amounts of weight, and many appetite disorders also involve the hypothalamus. Disorders discussed include Prader-Willi syndrome, Anorexia Nervosa, obesity and gastric bypass, Bardet Biedl syndrome and precocious puberty.ThirstA related "passion," thirst, follows as the subject of the second chapter. Signals of water deprivation originating in the kidneys and reactions of the hypothalamus are discussed. One such reaction is found in the posterior hypothalamic neurons, which innervate the pituitary gland, which secretes antidiuretic hormone and prevent further dehydration in reaction to water deprivation. Closely related to water balance is the control of body temperature, also discussed in chapter two. Fever, hibernation, and warm-bloodedness are discussed. Other topics in this chapter include body temperature and fertility, as well as immune responses involving the hypothalamus, such as increased sleep in response to infection.SexSex and emotions as they relate to the hypothalamus are discussed in the next chapter. It begins by rattling off survey results about human relationships and sexual preferences. The chapter then separates male and female sexual behavior, especially in relation to the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the hypothalamus. In males, a chain of testosterone-sensitive neurons is traced in this chapter from the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the hypothalamus, through the midbrain and pons to the spinal cord, all of which influence sexual behavior. Contributions of aging and drugs to sexual behavior are also discussed. The influence of hormones, aging and drugs on female sexual behavior is then examined, followed by an outlining of emotional responses related to the hypothalamus, including love, anger, anxiety and even pain sensitivity.SleepFinally, sleep is the subject of the fourth chapter. True to form, the anatomy and physiology of sleep is introduced first, followed by a detailing of disorders related to sleep, including narcolepsy, sleep apnea and insomnia. Chemical alterations of sleep patterns, such as caffeine are introduced, followed by the most interesting part of sleep, dreams.HormonesHormonal regulation by the hypothalamus is discussed in the fifth chapter. Most of the chapter is devoted to the pituitary gland, which is controlled largely by the hypothalamus, though deeply informative, the point becomes somewhat belabored here. The relationship of the hypothalamus to aging, menopause, cancer and glucose regulation, specific to insulin and diabetes, is also discussed in this chapter.Quotes"More recently, the viewpoint that anorexia is a purely psychological disorder is changing. Some of the abnormal psychological attitudes towards food, eating and body size seen in anorexics can also be provoked in ordinary people by prolonged fasting: starving people have abnormal preoccupations with food and body size.""Mating is not the only component of reproduction but in fact is only the beginning. It allows only for the conception of offspring. In order for babies of warm blooded animals like birds and mammals to survive, their parents must also be stimulated to love and care for them. The hypothalamus has a commanding role in generating these behaviors as well.""Even if a rat had a blunted ability to reason or to feel emotion, would that be sufficient rationale for using the rat for selfish human purposes?"ContentThis book provides a useful outline of the functions and structure of the hypothalamus, not as a closed system, but in relation to the rest of the body, which builds a scaffold for exploring the affects and implications of various disorders of the human body. Systems which employ hypothalamic control or input are well laid out in the book and meaningfully dissected to allow each disorder discussed to be well understood in terms of origin and result.LanguageThe language is relatable, but often more pedestrian than is appropriate to convey the sophistication of the research behind the statements made in the book. Details are often sacrificed in the name of relevancy and even humor. While the book is, as previously stated, wonderfully informative and highly understandable, some points are rather belabored while others are skimmed over quite briefly.EthicsThe crisis of conscience called Chapter 6 raises far more questions than it answers and leaves the reader rather dissatisfied with the author's level of comfort concerning the ethics of his chosen profession. This chapter may have been better left as an "authors note" at the end of the book; as such things often psychologically allow the reader to skip them without the personal conviction of skipping an entire chapter.
