The endocrine glands are in constant interaction. The brain's endocrine glands are the hypothalamus and the pituitary. These glands lie deep in the middle of the brain, and are considered the 'master glands' because they affect all the other glands. In mental illnesses, disorders in hormones are prominent. Post-partum 'blues', the mother's depression following the birth of a child, occur when the sex hormone balances are awry.
Depression is common during menopause, again when the sex hormones are unbalanced.
These central parts of the brain are directly stimulated when seizures are induced by electricity or by medicines. Such stimulation re-establishes the proper glandular functions of the brain, thereby bringing all the other glands into line. It is probable that some hormones from these glands affect mood, while others affect thought, and yet others, affect our motor functions. The broad benefits of electroshock are achieved by effects on the different hormones produced by the master endocrine glands of the brain.