How your hormones might be controlling your mind

We all like to think that our feelings and emotions are under our control, but are they? Scientists have long known that chemical messengers called neurotransmitters exert a huge influence on our brain. Yet as scientists learn more, they are finding that hormones too can mess with our heads in unexpected ways.

Now, some are trying to harness this knowledge to find new treatments for conditions like depression and anxiety.

Hormones are chemical messengers released by certain glands, organs, and tissues. They enter the bloodstream and travel around the body, before binding to receptors in a specific place. The binding acts as a kind of biological "handshake" which tells the body to do something. For example, the hormone insulin tells liver and muscle cells to suck up excess glucose from the blood and store it as glycogen.

Hormones' invisible control

Scientists have identified more than 50 hormones in the human body so far. Together they manage hundreds of bodily processes, including a person's growth and development, sexual function, reproduction, sleep-wake cycle and – importantly – their mental wellbeing.

• List 1
• List 2
• List 3

Heading 3

Now, some are trying to harness this knowledge to find new treatments for conditions like depression and anxiety.

1. List 1
2. List 2
3. List 3