DefinitionThe hypothalamus is an area of the brain that produces hormones that control:Body temperatureHungerMoodsRelease of hormones from many glands, especially the pituitary glandSex driveSleepThirstReferencesHadley ME, Levine JE. Endocrinology. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall; 2007:111-133.Coll AP, Farooqi IS, O'Rahilly S. The hormonal control of food intake. Cell. 2007;129(2):251-262.