Lecture 13 Flashcards
limbic system function
influences behavioral responses to different stimuli by integrating survival drives and learned memories
sleep/wake cycle behavior
feeding/appetite behavior
sexual (species reproduction) and nuturing behaviors
flight/fight behavior
motivation/addiction behavior
limbic system function 2
feeling and reacting brain that interacts with the conscious thinking brain of the cortex
in psychologically healthy adult: the limbic system is usually under control of the thinking brain = higher order thinking and wisdom
the limbic system can react on its own if a stimulus is perceived to be either a threat or necessary for survival
cortical structures of the limbic system
cingulate gyrus (limbic cortex or limbic lobe)
parahippocampal gyrus/hippocampus of the temporal lobe
amygdala - deep inside the temporal lobe
sub-cortical structures of the limbic system
hypothalamus/mamillary bodies
anterior thalamic nuclei
septal nuclei - located in prefrontal, associated with pleasure and reproduction
fornix - connection between hippocampus and mamillary bodies
stria terminalis - connection between amygdala and hypothalamus
olfactory tract
cingulate gyrus (limbic cortex)
connecting hub for processing emotions and sensations with actions
modifies behavior - processes emotions/sensatons and communicates with motor cortices, endocrine system, autonomic system
plays a role in: cognitive processing of reward-based decision making, visuospatial orientation, imagination and formation of episodic memory
parahippocampal gyrus function
acts as a staging area for memory
all incomign sensory information is sent to the entorhinal cortex of the parahippocampal gyrus where it is packaged up and sent to hippocampus to be encoded & consolidated as a long-term memory
enterohinal cortex -> hippocampus -> enterohinal cortex -> cortex
hippocampus function
central role in memory formation
the hippocampus encodes (packages up) all incoming input and consolidates it into a single experience
