Final answer:
The hypothalamus receives neural inputs and controls the pituitary gland by sending hormonal signals to its anterior lobe or neuronal signals to the posterior lobe, coordinating the endocrine and nervous system responses.
Step-by-step explanation:
The structure responsible for receiving neural signals from the brain and peripheral nervous system, and directing these signals to the pituitary gland, is the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is a crucial part of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, which integrates the endocrine and nervous systems.
Upon receiving signals, the hypothalamus produces hormones called 'release factors' which travel through the hypophyseal-hypothalamic portal vein to the anterior pituitary gland, or it sends signals via neurosecretory cells to the posterior pituitary gland.
The anterior pituitary gland, regulated by these releasing or release-inhibiting hormones, produces six hormones. In contrast, the posterior pituitary gland is an extension of the hypothalamic neurons and releases hormones produced by the hypothalamus such as antidiuretic hormone and oxytocin.
The hypothalamus, thereby, controls both lobes of the pituitary gland and plays a pivotal role in the hormonal responses to environmental changes and physiological conditions of the body.