Limbic Flashcards
what does the limbic system do
-processes emotion and related brain activity, memories, environmental cues and state of the individual
-act on this info to maximise survival strategies
eg.
sensory input into cerebral cortex
leads to
reaction/response
-fight/flight, freeze, rest and digest
-heart rate, sweating, resp. rate, defecation, micturition, evacuation, facial expression
what are the core processing components of the limbic system
amygdala
hippocampus
septal area
thalamus
limbic cortex
what are the effectors (output) of the limbic system
hypothalamus
brain stem structures
what are important white matter bundles found in the limbic system
what do they connect to
STRIA TERMINALIS
FORNIX
amygdala via stria terminalis
hippocampus via the fornix to mammillary bodies
where is the amygdala found
grey matter
in anterior TEMPORAL lobe
tail of caudate nucleus and rostral to hippocampus
with nuclei (central, corticomedial, basolateral)
what is Kluver-bucy syndrome
rare syndrome in humans produces behavioural impairment
associated with damage to the anterior temporal lobes
what are common effects of kluver-bucy syndrome
hyperorality
lack of fear
less common
-hypersexuality
-visual agnosia
-xs attentiveness to visual stimuli
-memory loss
-enhanced aggressino
-seizures
-dementia
what are causes of kluver-bucy syndrome
treatment
herpes encephalitis
trauma
tumours
hypoxia
pick’s disease
symptomatic
may use psychotropic medicatoins
what is Urbach-Wiethe disease
what is main symptoms
temporal lobes have calcification causing amygdala to degenerate
rare recessive genetic disorder
NO FEAR
difficulty building memories
defect in judgement in facial expressions
what happens if there is electrical stimulation of the amygdala
anxiety and fear
what does fear activate in the brain (fMRI)
central nucleus
bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BST)
what are the functions of the nuclei in the amygdala
sensory input into basal lateral nuclei
output from central nucluus
corticomedial receives olfactory input (not very well developed)
what happens in creating an emotional response eg. snake in room
stimulus
-fast track via thalamus to amygdala (lateral nuclei) does not reach consciousness– rapid response (may SAVE LIFE)
-longer route via cerebral cortex (realise theyre not as bad)
concept (idea of snake)
-cerebral cortex
context
-HIPPOCAMPUS (space/time)
input-lateral
output-central
what does subliminal mean
below consciousness
how does amygdala learn a modified fear response
fear stimulus to a noise (eg.)
Pavlovian type learning experience
then dont need fear stimulus just noise to elicit fear
where does the amygdalas output go
(main output)
stria terminalis to hypothalamus and brain stem
reward centre in septal area and BST
what are the direct outputs from the amygdala to the brain stem
Periaqueductal grey matter
locus coeruleus
parasympathetics
ventral tegmental area
drive autonomic response
what is a summary of the amygdala
controls emotional reactions (threat/fear)
via effectors (hypothalamus, brain stem through to autonomic nervous system, endocrine and motor system)
emotional learning resetting according to threat level and experience
it does simple codes of value (good/bad) for a threat/emotional trigger
-more refined mechanism for evaluating the survival value of emotional response