What is negative feedback in hormone regulation?

What is negative feedback in hormone regulation?

• A. Amplifies hormonal signals
• B. Keeps hormone levels constantly rising
• C. Reverses physiological change, like blood sugar or blood pressure
• D. Eliminates hormones from circulation

Answer: (C)

Negative feedback in hormone regulation is a mechanism that detects a deviation from a normal set point and acts to reverse it, bringing the system back toward balance. When a variable such as blood glucose or blood calcium moves away from its target range, the body triggers hormonal responses that oppose the change, restoring the variable to its steady state. For example, after a meal rising blood glucose triggers insulin release, which promotes glucose uptake and storage, lowering blood glucose back toward normal. In calcium balance, high calcium stimulates calcitonin to lower levels, while low calcium stimulates parathyroid hormone to raise them, both aiming to reverse the deviation. This contrasts with amplification of the signal (positive feedback), or a scenario where hormone levels just keep rising, or where hormones are simply removed from circulation without a regulatory reversal.

Negative feedback in hormone regulation is a mechanism that detects a deviation from a normal set point and acts to reverse it, bringing the system back toward balance. When a variable such as blood glucose or blood calcium moves away from its target range, the body triggers hormonal responses that oppose the change, restoring the variable to its steady state. For example, after a meal rising blood glucose triggers insulin release, which promotes glucose uptake and storage, lowering blood glucose back toward normal. In calcium balance, high calcium stimulates calcitonin to lower levels, while low calcium stimulates parathyroid hormone to raise them, both aiming to reverse the deviation. This contrasts with amplification of the signal (positive feedback), or a scenario where hormone levels just keep rising, or where hormones are simply removed from circulation without a regulatory reversal.