The nervous system isn’t the only method by which the brain controls the body and maintains homeostasis. The direct, electrochemical means by which the nervous system collects information from stimuli and then formulates responses is augmented by the endocrine system, which works with the nervous system to regulate the body’s cells. The autonomic nervous system responds to changes in the body’s dynamic balance by releasing electrochemical impulses to the body’s endocrine organs. These include the testes and ovaries, pancreas, adrenal glands atop the kidneys, thymus and parathyroid glands, and three glands in the brain: the pineal, hypothalamus, and pituitary.
