Limbic System

„ Forms a limbus (border) around the

brainstem
„ Emotional behavior and memory
Limbic ‘Lobe’ Components
Limbic System Components
„ Septal Nuclei „ Reticular Formation
„ Amygdala „ Epithalamus
„ Hypothalamus „ Frontal cortex
(mamillary bodies) „ Olfactory cortex
„ Thalamus „ Ventral striatum
… Anteriornucleus
… Medial nucleus
Limbic System Functions
„ Emotional behavior
„ Memory
„ Homeostatic responses
… Survival instinct
… Securing food
… Fight or flight

„ Sexual behavior
„ Motivation
Hippocampal Formation
„ Hippocampus
„ Dentate gyrus
… Toothed
surface
„ Subiculum
 Hippocampal Formation
„ Hippocampus
„ Dentate gyrus
„ Subiculum
 Hippocampus
„ Archicortex - 3 layers
… Molecular
… Pyramidal
„ Compact zone
… Superior division
„ Less compact
… Inferior division
… Multiform
 Hippocampus - Fields
„ CA1
… Superior
… Sensitive to
„ Anoxia
„ Ischemia
… Temporal lobe epilepsy
„ Trigger zone
„ CA2 & CA3
… Inferior region
„ CA4
… Transition between
hippocampus and
dentate gyrus
 Hippocampal Neurons
„ Principal neurons
… Pyramidal
… Output
… Apical dendrites
„ Towards molecular layer
… Basal dendrites
„ Towards ventricular
surface
… Axons
„ Ventricular surface
„ Form
… Alveus
… Fornix
„ Recurrent collaterals
… Molecular layer
… Multiform layer
… Excitatory
 Hippocampal Neurons
„ Intrinsic neurons
… Polymorphic
neurons
„ Irregularity of soma
and dendrites
… Multiformlayer
… Axons to pyramidal
cells
„ Arborize around
body
„ Aka basket cells

… Inhibitory
Dentate Gyrus
„ 3 layers
… Molecular
… Granule
„ Small densely packed granule cells
„ Form mossy fiber system
… Dentate gyrus to hippocampus
… Multiform
„ Pyramidal
… Output to hippocampus
„ Basket cells
Subiculum
„ 3 layers
… Molecular
… Pyramidal
„ Output through fornix
… Multiform
 Hippocampal Formation: Afferents
„ Entorhinal
„ Septal area
„ Contralateral
hippocampus
„ Hypothalamus
„ Thalamus
„ Amygdala
„ Locus ceruleus
„ Raphe nucleus
„ Ventral tegmental area
Hippocampal Formation: Afferents

„ Entorhinal area
… Parahippocampal gyrus to hippocampal formation
… Perforant Pathway
„ Perforates subiculum en route to hippocampus & dentate
gyrus
… Alvear Pathway
„ Smaller
„ Ventricular surface of the hippocampus, near the alveus
… Most heavily damaged in Alzheimer’s
… Site of early onset in Alzheimer’s
Hippocampal Formation: Efferents
 Fornix
„ Output of hippocampus
… Thalamus & hypothalamus
… Septal region
„ Pyramidal axons
… Alveus
… Fimbria
… Crus of fornix
… Body of fornix
… Columns of fornix
… 75% synapse in mamillary
bodies and anterior
nucleus of the thalamus
… 25% synapse in septal
nuclei
 Entorhinal-Hippocampal Circuitry

„ Excitatory
synapses
 Amygdala
„ ‘almond’
shaped nuclei
„ Tip of temporal
lobe
 Amygdala: Afferents
„ Olfactory,
somatosensory,
auditory, visual
„ Autonomic inputs
„ Integrates
 Amygdala: Efferents
„ Stria terminalis
… Main output
… Septal nuclei
… Anterior, preoptic,
ventromedial nuclei of
the hypothalamus
… Bed nucleus
„ Scattered group of
nuclei at the end of the
stria terminalis
 Amygdala: Efferents
„ Ventral amygdalofugal pathway
… Prefrontal, inferior temporal, insular,
cingulate, occipital cortices
… Ventral striatum
… Dorsomedial nucleus of the
thalamus
… Hypothalamus
… Septal area
… Substantia innominata
„ Diffuse cholinergic system
„ Activates cortex in response to
significant stimuli
… Brainstem nuclei involved in
visceral functions
„ Dorsol motor nucleus of the vagus,
raphe nuclei, locus ceruleus,
parabrachial nucleus, etc
 Amygdala: Functions
„ Autonomic
… Heart rate, respiration, blood
pressure, gastric motility
„ Orienting response
… To novel events
„ Emotional behavior & food
intake
… Corticomedial group of nuclei
„ Decreased emotional tone,
fear sadness aggression
„ Aphagia
… Basolateral group
„ Happiness, pleasure
„ Hyperphagia
„ Facial expression
… Emotional & social meaning
„ Mostly negative emotions
„ Arousal response
… lesion:
„ Sluggish, hypoactive
„ Sexual activity
… High density of sex hormone
receptors
… Bilateral lesions
„ Hypersexuality
„ Motor activity
… Related to eating
 Septal Area
„ 2 divisions
… Septum
pellucidum
„ Glia
„ Separates
lateral
ventricles
… Septum verum
„ Septal nuclei
„ Bed nucleus
„ Nucleus
accumbens
Septal Area: Afferents & Efferents

„ Reciprocal
Septal Area: Functions
„ Emotional behavior „ Learning
… Lesion … Lesion
„ Rage „ Learn quickly, perform
effectiviely
„ Water Consumption
… Lesion „ Reward
„ Over drink … Stimulation
„ Pleasure
„ Activity
… Lesion „ Autonomic effects
„ Hyperactivity to novel … Stimulation
stimulus, which quickly „ Inhibit autonomic function
drops to immobility … Via vagus
 Limbic Loop: Integrator
„ Takes sensory
processing and
autonomic/endocrine
information
„ Modulates frontal
processing
„ Goal: to affect motor
behavior
Limbic System: Functions
„ Preservation of „ Emotional behavior
the individual „ Memory
… Flight/fight „ Emotional valence of
… Eating sensory stimuli
… Drinking „ Motivation
„ Preservation of
the species
… Sexual behavior
… Social behavior
Memory
„ Explicit/Declarative
… Episodic (personal experience) – limbic system
… Semantic (knowledge) - neocortex
… Short-term vs long-term

„ Implicit
… Procedural (skill learning) – basal ganglia/cerebellum
… Priming – sensory association areas
„ Short-lived enhancement following recent exposure to similar
material
„ False memories/Deja vu
Clinical Correlates
„ Amnesia
… Retrograde
… Anterograde
… Global – acute, transient severe anterograde
with varying periods of retrograde
… Modality-specific – e.g. vision
… Permanent – e.g. Alzheimer’s
… Transient – e.g. post-traumatic
Temporal Lobe Epilepsy
„ Olfactory hallucinations, e.g. smelling burning rubber
„ Gustatory hallucinations, e.g. bad taste
„ Auditory hallucinations
„ Visual hallucinations
„ Rhythmic movements related to feeding
„ Complex motor acts [walking, undressing]
„ Amnesia
„ Aggressive behavior
„ Possibly death due to autonomic [cardiac] control
Alzheimer’s
„ Degenerative
„ Severe memory loss
… Startsas short-term,
but accelerates as
disease progresses
„ Disorientation to time,
place, person
„ Behavioral
… Depression, paranoia,
aggression
 Alzheimer’s
„ Shrunken gyri in
association cortices and
limbic system
„ Primary sensory cortices
and motor cortex mostly
spared
„ Neurofibrillary tangles
(tau protein)
„ Senile plaques (beta-
amyloid)
„ Genetic form
„ Environmental
… Aluminum?