neurohormone

A neurohormone is a hormone with a brain pedigree: it is made and released by a neuron rather than by a classical gland cell, yet it travels through the blood to act on distant targets, just like any other hormone. Think of it as a message that begins as a nerve signal and ends as a chemical broadcast.

Vasopressin and oxytocin, released from the posterior pituitary, are the textbook examples; the hypothalamic releasing hormones such as CRH, GnRH, and TRH are also neurohormones, secreted into the small portal blood vessels that feed the anterior pituitary. Many neurohormones are small peptides, and several molecules act as a neurotransmitter in one location and a neurohormone in another, depending on where they are released.

The same chemical wearing two hats is a recurring theme in neuroendocrinology. Calling something a neurohormone is therefore a statement about how it is delivered, through the blood from a neuron, not about its chemical identity.