The limbic system
● found within our cerebrum, on top of our brainstem, and is buried in our cortex.
● Is important for emotional and behavioral expression (especially for survival)
● Stores and retrieve long term memories
● Controls reflexes associated with eating
Parts:
❖ Limbic lobe
2 main components:
● Cingulate gyrus
- curved fold covering the corpus callosum
- Involved in memory and emotional processing (emotional responses to
pain, Coordinates Sensory Input With Emotions)
-
● Parahippocampal gyrus
- Is a cortical region in the medial temporal lobe that surrounds the
hippocampus
- Involved in memory processing (spatial or topographic memory)
-
❖ Hippocampal Formation/ Hippocampus
- essential in memory formation and stress regulation
- Important for spatial orientation and navigation
Consists of:
● Dentate gyrus
- “afferent information”
- acts as the main source of input to the hippocampus
● Subiculum
- the most inferior component of the hippocampal formation.
- “Efferent information”
- Represents the source of the output of the hippocampus
● Hippocampus Proper/ cornu amonas
- S-shaped structure
- It is located in the medial temporal lobe, beneath the cortical
surface
- resembles the shape of a curvy seahorse
- “Efferent information”
- Represents the source of the output of the hippocampus
❖ Amygdala
- almond-like shape; located right next to the hippocampus
- Epicenter in the limbic system for emotions and behaviors
- Fight or flight response
- Involved in emotion and behavior (esp. Fear and anger)
❖ Hypothalamus
- regulates behavior related to survival (fighting, feeding, fleeing, and mating
● Mammillary Bodies
- pair of small round bodies
- act as a relay for impulses coming from the amygdala and hippocampus
1. Memory and learning:
Papez Circuit
Hippocampus - Mamillary bodies - Anterior nucleus of the thalamus - Cingulate gyrus -
Parahippocampal gyrus - Dentate gyrus
From the Hippocampus, the fibers travel via the fornix, a white matter tract, that
connects to the Mamillary Bodies then via the Mammamillothalic tract to the
Anterior Nucleus of the Thalamus. From there the information is sent upwards to
the Cingulate gyrus- from here there are neurons that are gonna get stimulated
and it’s going to send its information downwards to the Parahippocampal gyrus to
the receiving portion of the hippocampus the Dentate gyrus.
2. Emotions and Behavior:
● Emotional responses
- Fear, Anger, Sadness, etc.
● Behaviors:
- Feeding
- Sexual
- motivation
The Amygdala is like the center of our limbic system for our emotions and behaviors. But
how does it know that you're in fear, anger, sadness, etc.
The limbic system communicates w/ our cerebral cortex. Our amygdala receives information
from the cerebral cortex to have the experience of a particular emotion. The amygdala
sends signals to the hypothalamus as this is where your autonomic nervous system centers
are. This is how you generate emotional and behavioral responses
The Amygdala is like the center of our limbic system for our emotions and
behaviors. But how does it know that you're in fear, anger, sadness, etc.
The limbic system communicates w/ our cerebral cortex: like our prefrontal lobe
(decision making, thought processes), temporal lobe(multiple functions for
sensory information), and posterior association area( which receives information
from the somatosensory cortex, visual and auditory association cortex).
Our amygdala receives information from those structures mentioned before to
have the experience of a particular emotion. The amygdala sends signals to the
hypothalamus as this is where your autonomic nervous system centers are. This
is how you generate emotional and behavioral responses. Let’s say you’re
walking outside suddenly you see a dog, you hear it barking and in that situation,
you get scared.
Your hypothalamus then sends signals to the spinal cord, the sympathetic
nerves to your organs like the heart, lungs, liver. All this is an autonomic
response to emotions that started with the amygdala.
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