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# Long description

This diagram shows the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, the two amygdalas to the left and right, the hippocampus directly above and the prefrontal cortex at the top. Below the hypothalamus is shown the pituitary and below this is the adrenal gland in cross-section, revealing the outer, cortical layer. Starting at the amygdala, a black arrow denotes release of a signal which initiates release of CRF (shown as blue circles) from the hypothalamus. CRF travels to the pituitary where it stimulates release of ACTH (shown as red circles), which travels to the adrenal cortex to stimulate the release of glucocorticoids (shown as green circles). Green lines indicate the route followed by these hormones to their GR targets in the pituitary, hippocampus, hypothalamus and prefrontal cortex.