Limbic system

Prof. Dr Deepthinath
 Function of the limbic system

• Integration of olfactory, visceral, and somatic impulses

reaching the brain
• Control of activities necessary for survival of the animal,
including procuring of food and eating behavior
• Control of activities necessary for survival of the species,
including sexual behaviour
• Emotional behaviour
• Retention of recent memory

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1. The limbic lobe:
• consists of cingulate gyrus, isthmus, parahippocampal
gyrus, and uncus

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 2. Hippocampal formation
It comprises ……
1. Indusium griseum & longitudinal striae
2. Gyrus fasciolaris
3. Dentate gyrus
4. Hippocampus
INDUSIUM GRISEUM:-
• A thin sheet of grey matter covers the outer
convex surface of the Corpus callosum.
• Traced in front, the indusium griseum is continuous
around the genu and rostrum of corpus callosum
with the upper end of paraterminal gyrus.
• Around the splenium of corpus callosum the
indusium is continuous with the Gyrus fasciolaris
and then with the dentate gyrus.
• On each side the indusium is continuous through
the callosal sulcus with the cingulate gyrus.
 HIPPOCAMPAL FORMATION…

Indusium griseum Cingulate gyrus

Paraterminal gyrus

Entorhinal area

Dentate gyrus Jerry George Mathew

Parahippocampal gyrus
 HIPPOCAMPAL FORMATION….
Dentate Gyrus :

• A narrow, crenated strip of grey

matter extends forwards as a
continuation of the gyrus
fasciolaris along the upper
surface of the parahippocampal
gyrus.

Fimbria of the fornix

• Separated laterally & below from
the parahippocampal gyrus by Hippocampal
Dentate gyrus sulcus
hippocampal sulcus.
Parahippocampal gyrus

• acts as a preprocessor of incoming information

• Damage- age associated decline of hippocampal learning and memory
 HIPPOCAMPAL FORMATION
HIPPOCAMPUS:--

1. C-shaped on coronal section.

2. It is produced by the complex infoldings

of dentate gyrus, Cornua ammonis &
Subiculum (archipallial cortex)
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hippocampus

Body of fornix

Fimbria of fornix

Crura of fornix
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FORNIX:

Body of fornix Crura of fornix

Columns of fornix

Mamillary body

Fimbria of fornix
Alveus
For emotional integration and for recent memory trace
Identify the structures….
HIPPOCAMPAL
FORMATION

? ?

? Jerry George Mathew

 3. SEPTAL AREAS
• masses of grey matter that lie
immediately anterior to the
lamina terminalis and the
anterior commissure.
• They include the paraterminal
gyrus, prehippocampal rudiment
and subcallosal area (or
parolfactory gyrus).

• strong projections to emotion-generating

areas and has a key role in feelings of
social connectedness and bonding.
Nucleus Accumbens
• Stimulation –sense of well-being via
dopaminergic activity
• cocaine inhibits the reuptake of dopamine, so
dopamine floods the medial forebrain
• amphetamines stimulate dopamine release

Septal area:
Stimulation –sensation like orgasm/Pleasure
Destruction = RAGE!!!

Reward and Reinforcement

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• Sham rage is an affective and
pathological aggressive behavior
such as biting, clawing, hissing,
arching the back and "violent
alternating limb movements“
characterized by manifestations
of fear and anger .

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 Olfactory bulb
4. Olfactory Area Olfactory tract

Anterior
perforated
substance

OLFACTORY SYSTEM:

Olfactory pathway:- Olfactory

nerves, bulbs, Anterior olfactory
nucleus, tracts & their terminations.

Uncus & entorhinal area (Pyriform

lobe) acts as primary olfactory area
& association olfactory area.

Jerry George Mathew

Medial and lateral olfactory striae
 AMYGDALA
• The Uncus marks the general location of the underlying amygdala.
• Collection of nuclear masses present in the roof of the Inferior horn of the lateral
ventricle.
• Continuous behind with the tail of caudate nucleus.

1. Receives major input from the Olfactory

system.
2. Major output to the Hypothalamus and
Septal areas.
 Disorders of Memory and Behaviour

• Damage of the hippocampus, the fimbria and fornix, the mamillary

bodies, the mamillothalamic tract, the anterior nuclei of the thalamus,
and the gyrus cinguli results in loss of memory of events, leaving general
knowledge of the person intact.

• Bilateral transection of the fornix can lead to acute amnesic syndrome, in

which an individual is unable to process his/her short-term memory into
long-term memory

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 Alzheimer’s disease

• is a degenerative disorder of the brain affecting the limbic

system.
• It is associated with loss of memory, initially short-term and
later long-term memory.
• Cognitive deficit is due to reduced cholinergic inputs.

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 SEIZURES AND THE HIPPOCAMPUS
• The lack of inhibitory neurons in hippocampal structures makes this
region more susceptible to seizures than other cortical areas.

• The neural degeneration in patients with Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by an

accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques and occurs initially in the
entorhinal cortex and then in the Subiculum and CA1 region of the hippocampus proper.

• The basal nuclei of Meynert,

• limbic nuclei of the thalamus,
• neurons in association cortical areas,
Are affected later
• noradrenergic and serotoninergic neurons in the brainstem.
 Temporal Lobe Dysfunction

• Temporal lobe epilepsy may be preceded by an aura of acoustic or

olfactory experience.
• The olfactory aura is usually an unpleasant odor.
• The patient is often confused, anxious, and docile and may perform
automatic and complicated movements, such as undressing in public or
driving a car, and then, following the seizure, may have no memory of
what occurred previously.

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Kluver-Bucy syndrome

• results due to bilateral temporal lobe lesion involving amygdala and adjacent
structures.
• The amygdala is probably responsible for evaluating the significance of
environmental events, for example, in recognizing what objects are edible, or in
recognizing attributes of the opposite sex.
• This results in marked changes in ingestive behaviour, the animal ingests
material (like fecal matter), not normally eaten.
• Abnormalities in sexual behaviour are also seen, probably because of the failure
to distinguish between male and female animals.

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