Notes

Limbic Cortex It is the least understood part of the brain. It functions as a cerebral association area for control of behavior. (Very few studies of electrical stimulation in the limbic cortex that tell us what it does, it seems to be related to motivational drive, emotions, sensations, coordinating behaviour and motivational drive. But it's still an open chapter as it is very poorly understood).

Basic Limbic Circuit: Loop!

It is a series of different systems that work together in this loop, this type of interconnection can be seen in a number of parallel circuits studied in the past as shown below.

Hippocampal Circuit

Papez: french researcher that described the first emotional circuit of the brain, which was the hippocampal circuit, it was considered the whole limbic system in the beginning until the discovery of additional parallel circuits such as the amygdala circuit.

Amygdala Circuit

Summary

• Limbic structures and hypothalamus are highly interconnected with each other and with cortex and brainstem.
• Amygdala orchestrates emotional and drive-related behaviour through connections with brainstem, hypothalamus and spinal cord.
• Hippocampus is important for laying down new declarative memories.