Limbic System: Definition, and Anatomy – The brain is a very complex organ in the fabric of the human body. It is the center of control and coordination of everything from finger movements to heartbeat. Not only that, the brain also plays an important role in controlling and processing emotions.
Experts still have many questions about the brain’s role in a variety of emotions, but they successfully demonstrate the origins of some common findings, including fear, anger, happiness, and love. One of the parts that plays a role in it is the limbic system.
Limbic System Definition
The limbic system is a group of interconnected structures located deep in the brain. It is the part of the brain that is responsible for behavioral and emotional responses.
Scientists have not yet reached an agreement on the complete list of structures that make up the limbic system, but its structure generally consists of four parts. They consist of the hypothalamus, hippocampus, amygdala and limbic cortex. In it includes settings of fear, anger, happiness and feelings of love.
The limbic system is located in the middle of the brain, wrapping the brain stem like a shirt collar.
Limbic is derived from the Latin meaning “collar”. This part of the brain is similarly owned by mammals, so it is often referred to as the mammalian brain.
The limbic system serves to produce feelings, regulate hormone production, maintain homeostasis, thirst, hunger, se**x drive, pleasure centers, metabolism and also long-term memory.
The most important part of the Limbic System is the Hypothalamus which one of its functions is the deciding part of which one needs attention and which does not. For example, a mother pays more attention to the her child than the child of an unknown person. Why? Because the mother has a strong emotional connection with her child.
Likewise, when a human hates someone, he or she often notices or reminds. This happens because he has an emotional connection to a hated person.
Limbic System Anatomy
The limbic system or emotional nervous system is located in the zone within our brain, outside the cerebral cortex. It receives influence from many other means of the nervous system related to the senses: hearing, visual, olfactory system, touch and taste sensors.
Since the structure of the limbic system is interrelated with many other routes, it is very complicated to create a fully precise scheme of all its anatomical elements. Among the main parts of the system we highlight the following:
Hippocampus
This element is associated with the transformation of current memory into long-term memory and autobiographical memory. We find it in the middle of the temporal lobe and also have important functions associated with spatial orientation and memory.
Cerebral tonsils
Cerebral tonsils are masses of almond-shaped neurons located in the temporal lobe. This area of the limbic system is associated with the formation and storage of memory associated with events that have produced strong emotions.
It is said that the amygdala is the center of all emotions. In addition, recent research has also shown that this element has strong implications in memory consolidation.
Thalamus
The thalamus is defined as the structure of the brain located above the hypothalamus. All sensory stimuli (except odors) pass through the area of our limbic system and then referred to a more specific area. This part of our brain has the main function of behaving as a core connection and an association of stimuli and emotional information.
Hypothalamus
This small element of our emotional nervous system is responsible for many neural functions. The hypothalamus is the most important area of the brain for the management and coordination of our body’s balance.
This balance is known as homeostasis and its process by which we regulate ourselves and we can remain stable in our environment.
It has recently been found that it senses levels of a protein called leptin when we eat too much and, in response to those levels, reduces our appetite. It also regulates behaviors such as sleep cycles and maintains body temperature.
Basal Ganglia
Basal ganglia participates indirectly in the emotional nervous system, it is responsible for managing our motor responses (movement or expression) associated with the emotional state produced by other parts of the limbic system.
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