What is the Limbic System

Limbic System: It is a complex system of nerve pathways & networks in the brain, involving several different nuclei, that is involved in the expression of instinct & mood in activities of the endocrine & motor system of the body.

Function: Emotion, Intelligence, Mood Feeling, Memory, etc

Organs: Thalamus, Basal ganglia, Hippocampus & Amygdale.

Thalamus: One of two egg-shaped masses of gray matter that lies deep in the cerebral hemispheres in each side of the forebrain. The thalamus is relay stations for all the sensory messages that enter the brain, before they are transmitted to the cortex.

Basal ganglia: Several large masses of gray matter embedded deep within the white matter of the cerebrum. The basal ganglia have complex neural connections with both the cerebral cortex & thalamus. They are involved with the regulation of voluntary movements at a subconscious level.

Amygdale: A roughly almond-shaped mass of gray matter deep inside each cerebral hemisphere. It has extensive connections with the olfactory system & sends fibers to the hypothalamus; its functions are apparently concerned with mood, feeling, instinct & possibly memory for recent events.

Hippocampus: A swelling in the floor of the lateral ventricle of the brain. It contains complex folding of cortical tissues & is involved, with other connections of the hippocampus formation, in the workings of the limbic system.

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