Limbic System - Drives and Emotions

Question 1

Name the three divisions of the limbic lobe:

Answer 1

Cingulate, Subcallosal, Parahippocampal

Question 2

Give the steps in the Papez circuit:

Answer 2

Cingulate -cingulum> Hippocampus -fornix> Mammillary Body -medial tegmental tract> Anterior Thalamus.

Question 3

Name the structures in the brain that form the limbic system:

Answer 3

Limbic Cortex (orbitofrontal, cingulate, temporal pole, perirhinal, parahippocampal, subcallosal-septal)
Hippocampal Formation: (hippocampus, subiculum, dentate gyrus)
Amygdaloid complex (corticomedial, basolateral, central)
Ventral Striatum (Nucleus Accumbens, Ventral Caudate, Putamen)
Hypothalamus (mammillary bodies, ventromedial nucleus, lateral hypothalamic area)
Thalamus (Anterior, mediodorsal)
Periaqueductal gray
Reticular formation

Question 4

Effect of stimulating the amygdala?

Answer 4

Rage, Fear, Increased Aggression

Question 5

What symptoms would be seen with a bilateral degeneration of the amygdala?

Answer 5

inability to recognize emotional expression in others.
Inability to learn emotional response
Inability to recognize faces (prosopagnosia)

Question 6

What is Capgras syndrome? How is it associated with the limbic system?

Answer 6

belief that friends and family members are identical looking imposters. Results from disconnect between amygdala and temporal lobe.

Question 7

Diminished fear and visual agnosia would likely be results of damage between what connections of the limbic system?

Answer 7

Connection from the “what” (ventral) pathway of the visual cortex to the amygdala.

Question 8

What are the three divisions of the amygdaloid complex, the general functions of each and the inputs/outputs of each?

Answer 8

Basolateral nucleus (Evaluates Sensory Stimuli, inputs: sensory info from thalamus, orbitofrontal cortex, visual cortex. ouptuts: cortex, dorsomedial nucleus, prefrontal cortex [all through amygdalofugal pathway], nucleus basalis, Ventral Striatum, insula, hypothalamus) Centromedial Nucleus (control of autonomic and visceral function. inputs: olfactory bulb/cortex [pyriform, orbitofrontal] outputs: Anterior olfactory nucleus, pyriform), Central nucleus (control of autonomic and visceral function. Inputs: Hypothalamus, periaqueductal gray, septal nuclei. Outputs: septal nucleus, hypothalamus, solitarius, vagal nuclei)