The HOPES Brain Tutorial (Non-Flash Version) Part 5
A guided tour of the human brain and its parts.
Limbic System
The limbic system wraps around the brain stem and is beneath the cerebral cortex. It is a major center for emotion formation and processing, for learning, and for memory. The limbic system contains many parts, including the cingulate gyrus, a band of cortex that runs from the front of the brain to the back, the parahippocampal gyrus, the dentate gyrus, and most notably, the hippocampus and amygdala. The hippocampus is involved in memory storage and formation. It is also involved in complex cognitive processing. The amygdala is associated with forming complex emotional responses, particularly involving aggression. The limbic structures are also connected with other major structures such as the cortex, hypothalamus, thalamus, and basal ganglia.
HD affects the communication of the limbic system with the frontal lobes by damaging the caudate nucleus, a relay station between them. As the connections degenerate, the activity-initiating frontal lobes are disconnected from the emotion processing center of the brain, producing apathy, a common symptom of HD.
Last Modified: 4-29-04
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The limbic system wraps around the brain stem and is beneath the cerebral cortex. It is a major center for emotion formation and processing, for learning, and for memory. The limbic system contains many parts, including the cingulate gyrus, a band of cortex that runs from the front of the brain to the back, the parahippocampal gyrus, the dentate gyrus, and most notably, the hippocampus and amygdala. The hippocampus is involved in memory storage and formation. It is also involved in complex cognitive processing. The amygdala is associated with forming complex emotional responses, particularly involving aggression. The limbic structures are also connected with other major structures such as the cortex, hypothalamus, thalamus, and basal ganglia.
HD affects the communication of the limbic system with the frontal lobes by damaging the caudate nucleus, a relay station between them. As the connections degenerate, the activity-initiating frontal lobes are disconnected from the emotion processing center of the brain, producing apathy, a common symptom of HD.
