Neuroscience Limbic System Russell T. Matthews Flashcards
What did Papez hypothesize about the limbic system?
That it is involved with emotions, the Papez circuit
What is the Papez circuit? (Four items)
- Hippcampus connected to mammilary bodies
- Mammilary bodies to the anterior of the thalamus
- Anterior nuclesu to the cingulate cortex
- Cingulate cortex back to the hippocampus
T or F: The amygdala is part of the Papez circuit.
FALSE. Kluver-Bucy showed that all emotional symptoms could be recapitulated by removing/damaging the amygdala (monkey experiment)
What are the areas of the limbic system currently thought to be active in emotional processing?
- Amygdala
- Anterior and mid-cingulate cortex
- Mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus
- Prefrontal cortex
What is the key function of the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC)?
To store emotional/valenced information and recode the amygdala
**regulates ANS
What is the key function of the Mid-Cingulate Cortex (MCC)?
Select responses (mental or motor), predict outcomes, resolve ambiguity, improvise new behavior for new problems **resolves conflict, regulates skeletomotor output
What is the key function of the amygdala?
Invests sensory experience with emotional significance (valence), most prominently involved in fear
What is the key function of the hypothalamus?
Autonomic, hormonal control
What is the key function of the periaqueductal gray?
Coordinate behaviors, autonomic/skeletal
What is the key function of the locus coeruleus?
Coordinates responses and enhances storage of emotional memories
What is the key function of the dorsal raphe nucleus?
Regulates mood
What are secondary emotions?
Conscious emotions, involve conscious processing
What is the effect of Urbach-Wiethe disease?
Calcification of the amygdala
What was special about patient S.M.?
She has no fear response, but her motor, sensory system, intelligence level and function, and memory were intact. She had loss of her amygdalas bilaterally due to Urbach-Wiethe disease, a genetic disorder.
The amygdala receives direct input from the:
thalamus
Memory is directly enhanced in the presence of:
norepinephrine
What specific locations in the brain mediate the fight or flight response?
Amygdala to the periaqueductal gray and locus coeruleus (and connections from the LC to the PAG)