Preface

The human hypothalamus, a small structure at the base of the brain, has strategic importance for the harmonic function of the human body. It controls the autonomic nervous system, neu‐ roendocrine function, circadian and circannual rhythms, somatic activities, and behavior, and is situated at the borders between the brain and the body and the brain and the soul, meeting points for mind (νους) and body (σώμα).

The Greek pre-Socratic philosopher Anaxagoras of Clazomenae claimed in the sixth century BC that the mind controls the physical existence of the human being: "...καί όσα γε ψυχήν έχει...πάντων νους κρατεί" (DΚ Β12.12). Galen, the great Greek neuroscientist from Perga‐ mum (AD 130–200), claimed, on the other hand, that from the base of the brain (the hypothala‐ mus) the animal spirit is transmitted to the body, infiltrating, vitalizing, and activating all the organs, inducing also the phenomenon of "sympathy," which means the harmonious coordi‐ nation and cooperation of all the organs of the body.

Today, we know definitely that the hypothalamus, "the very main spring of primitive exis‐ tence" according to Cushing, is the principal regulatory center for autonomic and endocrine homeostasis. In addition, we know that the hypothalamus is involved in a wide range of higher mental functions, including attention, learning and memory, reinforcement of mnemonic proc‐ esses, emotional control, mood stability, and cognitive–emotional interactions, since it is a core structure of the limbic system with connections to the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, and thala‐ mus.

It is reasonable that the hypothalamus, as homeostatic regulator, is closely involved in autonomic and neuroendocrine disorders, disorders of development and growth, disorders of drinking and eating, disorders of thermoregulation, sleep disorders, and autoimmune dysfunction.

However, it is important that clinical observations, neuroimaging data, and neuropathological studies plead in favor of hypothalamic involvement in behavioral disorders, such as psychomo‐ tor agitation, aggressive and disruptive behavior, obsessive–compulsive disorder, panic reac‐ tions, pain and addiction, fatigue syndromes, as well as in neurological conditions, such as cluster headaches, episodes of migraine, hypnic headache, gelastic epilepsy, mental deficiency, periodic disorders, and in a substantial number of neurodegenerative diseases.

The possible involvement of the hypothalamus in depression, schizophrenia, and autism, a fact that enlarges greatly the essential contribution of the hypothalamus in controlling psycho‐ somatic equilibrium and retaining the internal unity of the human existence, poses an addi‐ tional reason for attracting the attention of neuroscientists, who by applying modern neurobiological techniques may proceed to a further clarification of the complex, substantial, and multidimensional strategic role that the hypothalamus plays in the human brain.

I extend my gratitude to the authors and the editorial and secretarial staff who worked with much devotion and enthusiasm to publish this volume. I wish that it might be one more step for further fruitful research activity in the immense field of the human hypothalamus.

> **Stavros J. Baloyannis MD, PhD** Professor Emeritus Aristotelian University Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece

**Neuroanatomy**

**Section 1**

**Dr. Jan Oxholm Gordeladze Ph.D** Department of Biochemistry Institute of Basic Medical Science University of Oslo, Norway

**Section 1**
