The Limbic System Flashcards
What does the limbic system include?
The hippocampus, the amygdala & the hypothalamus.
What does the hippocampus involve?
Memory.
What does the hypothalamus do?
It regulates eating and the day-night cycle, among other functions.
What does the amygdala relate to?
Emotional responses to stimuli in the environment.
What does the limbic system have a role in?
In self-preservation.
What do structures in the limbic system control?
Our temperature, the fight-or-flight response, etc.
What is the fight-or-flight response?
Our arousal in the face of danger.
Why is what is controlled by the limbic system in response to emotions rather than thoughts?
Because as the limbic system is linked to our autonomic systems, so it responds ‘automatically’ to danger rather than in a planned way.
The hypothalamus has a balancing system.
What is this called?
Homeostasis.
Homeostasis is about…
… putting the body back into balance.
What does the hypothalamus regulate?
Hunger, thirst, response to pain, anger, aggression & sexual satisfaction.
It also regulates the autonomic part of the nervous system, which means regulating blood pressure, pulse, breathing & arousal levels (fight or flight).
What does the hypothalamus detect?
It detects the levels of leptin in the body.
What is leptin?
A hormone.
When is leptin released?
When we overeat, as it senses the levels of fat in our bodies.
How does the hypothalamus control our appetite?
By using levels of leptin.
The hippocampus has an important role in?
Taking short-term memories and converting them into long-term memories.
If someone can’t successfully build new long-term memories, they are…
… (effectively) trapped in the present.
How many amygdalae are there?
2, the left amygdala & the right amygdala.
What evidence from animal studies suggests that an aggressive response is one of the roles of the amygdala?
If the amygdala is stimulated using an electric current & the animal shows aggression.
What happens if the amygdala is removed?
The animal becomes passive & unresponsive (opposite of aggressive).
Without an amygdala, an animal doesn’t respond to fear either. What does this suggest?
That the amygdala has a role in arousal, aggression & the ‘fight-or-flight’ response.
The amygdala is the centre for?
Identifying threat.
The role of the amygdala is?
Self-preservation.
What is the role of the cingulate gyrus?
Focusing attention on events that are emotional for the individual.
The cingulate gyrus links…
… the thalamus & the hippocampus.
Where is the cingulate gyrus located?
It lies above the corpus callosum.
