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The Limbic System: Behavior Aggression Emotion Sexual Response Phylogenetically Ancient

The limbic system is involved in emotion processing, motivation, and memory formation. It includes structures like the hippocampus, amygdala, and limbic lobe. The hippocampus is important for converting short-term to long-term memory. Damage to the amygdala can reduce aggression and fear responses. The Papez circuit ties together structures important for cognition, emotion, and homeostasis.

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Naveed Akhter
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146 views22 pages

The Limbic System: Behavior Aggression Emotion Sexual Response Phylogenetically Ancient

The limbic system is involved in emotion processing, motivation, and memory formation. It includes structures like the hippocampus, amygdala, and limbic lobe. The hippocampus is important for converting short-term to long-term memory. Damage to the amygdala can reduce aggression and fear responses. The Papez circuit ties together structures important for cognition, emotion, and homeostasis.

Uploaded by

Naveed Akhter
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Limbic System

 Preservation of the individual and the


continuation of the species
 Feeding behavior, "fight-or-flight" responses,
aggression, and the expressions of emotion and
of the autonomic, behavioral, and endocrine
aspects of the sexual response
 It includes phylogenetically ancient portions of
the cerebral cortex, related subcortical
structures, and fiber pathways that connect with
the diencephalon and brain stem
The Limbic Lobe

 The limbic lobe was so named because


this cortical complex forms a limbus
(border) between the diencephalon and
Telencephalon hemispheres
 This limbic lobe consists of a ring of cortex
outside the corpus callosum, largely made
up of the subcallosal and cingulate gyri as
well as the parahippocampal gyrus
Limbic System
 Includes the
 Limbic lobe
 Amygdala
 Mamillary body
 Hippocampal formation
Hippocampal Formation

 Hippocampus (Ammon's horn)


 Dentate gyrus
 Supracallosal gyrus (also termed the
indusium griseum)
 septal area/ Entorhinal area
Connecting Pathways of the Limbic System
 The connecting pathways of the limbic system are the
alveus, the fimbria, the fornix, the mammillothalamic
tract, and the stria terminalis.
 The alveus is composed of nerve fibers that originate in
the hippocampal cortex
 The fibers converge to form a bundle called the fimbria.
 The fimbria now leaves the posterior end of the
hippocampus as the crus of the fornix
 The two crura now converge to form the body of the
fornix, which is applied closely to the undersurface of the
corpus callosum
 As the two crura come together, they are connected by
transverse fibers called the commissure of the fornix
 The body of the fornix splits anteriorly into two
anterior columns of the fornix and disappears
into the lateral wall of the third ventricle to
reach the mammillary body

 The mammillothalamic tract provides important


connections between the mammillary body and
the anterior nuclear group of the thalamus.

 The stria terminalis emerges from the


amygdaloid nucleus
Afferent Connections of the
Hippocampus
 From
 cingulate gyrus
 septal nuclei (nuclei lying within the midline
close to the anterior commissure)
 hippocampus of opposite side
 indusium griseum.
 entorhinal area.
 dentate and parahippocampal gyri
Efferent Connections of the
Hippocampus
 Via Alveus and Fimbria
 Opposite Hippocampus
 mammillary body
 Anterior nuclei of the thalamus.
 tegmentum of the midbrain.
 septal nuclei, the lateral preoptic area, and the
anterior part of the hypothalamus.
 Fibers join the stria medullaris thalami to reach
the habenular nuclei.
 Physiologists now recognize the
importance of the hypothalamus as being
the major output pathway of the limbic
system
The Papez Circuit
 parahippocampal gyrus hippocampus fornix
mamillary bodies anterior thalamic nuclei
cingulate gyrus parahippocampal gyrus

 This circuit, called the Papez circuit after the


neuroanatomist who defined it, ties together the
cerebral cortex and the hypothalamus. It
provides an anatomic substrate for the
convergence of cognitive (cortical) activities,
emotional experience, and expression.
Functions of the Limbic System
 The limbic system, via the hypothalamus and its
connections with the outflow of the autonomic
nervous system and its control of the endocrine
system, is able to influence many aspects of
emotional behavior
 These include particularly the reactions of fear
and anger and the emotions associated with
sexual behavior.
 Hippocampus is concerned with converting recent
memory to long-term memory. A lesion of the
hippocampus results in the individual being unable to
store long-term memory.
 Memory of remote past events before the lesion
developed is unaffected. This condition is called
anterograde amnesia.
 It is interesting to note that injury to the amygdaloid
nucleus and the hippocampus produces a greater
memory loss than injury to either one of these structures
alone.
 There is no evidence that the limbic system has an
olfactory function. The various afferent and efferent
connections of the limbic system provide pathways for
the integration and effective homeostatic responses to a
wide variety of environmental stimuli.
Amygdala

 The amygdalar (from the Greek amygdala,


“almonds”) nuclei, a major component of
the limbic system, resemble almonds in
shape and are located in the tip of the
temporal lobe beneath the cortex of the
uncus and rostral to the hippocampus and
the inferior horn of the lateral ventricle
Amygdala
 Afferents:
 prefrontal, temporal, occipital, and insular cortices,
 thalamus (dorsomedial nucleus)
 olfactory cortex

 Efferents via two main pathways


 (1) stria terminalis (dorsal amygdalofugal pathway)
 ventral amygdalofugal pathway (ventrofugal bundle).
Destruction of the Amygdaloid Complex

 Unilateral or bilateral destruction of the amygdaloid nucleus and


the para-amygdaloid area in patients suffering from aggressive
behavior in many cases results in a decrease in aggressiveness,
emotional instability, and restlessness; increased interest in food;
and hypersexuality. There is no disturbance in memory.

 Monkeys that have been subjected to bilateral removal of the


temporal lobes demonstrate what is known as the Klüver-Bucy
syndrome. They become docile and show no evidence of fear or
anger and are unable to appreciate objects visually

 They have an increased appetite and increased sexual activity.

 Precise stereotactic lesions in the amygdaloid complex in humans


reduce emotional excitability and bring about normalization of
behavior in patients with severe disturbances. No loss of memory
occurs.
Stria Terminalis
 The stria terminalis is the main outflow tract of
the amygdala.

 its branches out to supply the following areas:


(1) septal nuclei, (2) anterior, preoptic, and
ventromedial nuclei of the hypothalamus and
the lateral hypothalamic area, and (3) bed
nucleus of the stria terminalis (a scattered group
of nuclei at the rostral extremity of the stria
terminalis).

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