LIMBIC SYSTEM

Limbic system: An Enigma shrouded in a Mystery

INTRODUCTION
Limbic lobe - limbus (ring or border) limbic system - limbic lobe and the structures connected to it.

LIMBIC LOBE

Broca (1878)- Gray matter in the medial and basal parts of the hemisphere that forms a limbus (border) around the brain stem.
Subcallosal

gyrus Cingulate gyrus Isthmus of the cingulate gyrus Parahippocampal gyrus Uncus

LIMBIC LOBE

FUNCTION
Emotional behavior Memory Integration of homeostatic responses (preservation of the species, securing food, and the fight or flight response). Sexual behavior Motivation

Hippocampal Formation
Infolding of the parahippocampal gyrus into the inferior (temporal) horn of the lateral ventricle Regions:

Hippocampus Dentate

gyrus (fascia dentata), Subiculum.

Hippocampus
Anatomist Arantius - sea horse C-shaped, bulging into the inferior horn of the lateral ventricle. Laminae - molecular layer, pyramidal cell layer, and stratum oriens (polymorphic layer).

Hippocampus

Dentate Gyrus
Latin dentatus, having teeth; Greek gyros, circle Layers

Molecular

layer. Granular cell layer (mossy fiber system). Polymorphic layer

output with in the hippocampal formation

Subiculum
.

Three layers
Molecular

layer, Pyramidal layer, Polymorphic layer

Afferent Pathways
Perforant path Alvear path

Alzheimers

Efferent Pathways
Entorhinal cortex (most efferents from subiculum) Cingulate gyrus Fornix carries majority of efferents from the hippocampus proper Pre-commissure (H): Septum, preoptic area and hypothalamus Post-commissure (S): Mamillary bodies, ATN and the hypothalamus

FORNIX

Connects the hippocampal formation & subcortical areas i.e. thalamus,hypothalam us, and septal region. Postcommissural fornix Precommissural fornix

Fornix (Latin, arch).

FUNCTION

Memory and learning

A

loss of recent memory and anterograde amnesia Declarative (explicit) memory - episodic

Attention and alertness

AMYGDALA
Greek amygdala-almonds nuclei. Location- tip of the temporal lobe beneath the cortex of the uncus and rostral to the hippocampus and the inferior horn of the lateral ventricle. Nuclei: the corticomedial-central and the basolateral.

Afferent Pathways

Efferent Pathways

(1) stria terminalis - corticomedial group

Function

A. Autonomic effects
Changes

in heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, and gastric motility response to novel events

B. Orienting response
orients

C. Emotional behavior and food intake

(I)Corticomedial lesion - aphagia, decreased emotional tone, fear, sadness, and aggression. Stimulation - defensive and aggressive reaction. (II)Basolateral Lesion - hyperphagia, happiness, and pleasure reactions Stimulation - fear and flight

D. Facial expression
(I) Extrastriate visual cortices - constructing detailed perceptual representation of faces. (II) Amygdala - link the perception of the face to the retrieval of knowledge about its emotional and social meaning. Lesion-impaired recognition of facial expressions

E. Arousal response
(I)Basolateral - produces an arousal response Independant of ARAS (II)Corticomedial - produces the reverse effect (a decrease in arousal and sleep).

F. Sexual activity
Highest

density of receptors for sex hormones Stimulation - erection, ejaculation, copulatory movements, and ovulation. Bilateral lesions - hypersexuality and perverted sexual behavior

G. Motor activity
Corticomedial

- complex rhythmic movements related to eating, such as chewing, smacking of the lips, licking, and swallowing. The dj vu phenomenon, as well as olfactory and gustatory hallucinations, Destruction of both amygdalas - relieve intractable epilepsy and treat violent behavior.

(4) Midbrain - In the medial forebrain bundle. The periaqueductal gray region and the ventral tegmental area are the primary brain stem areas (5) Habenular nucleus Habenulointerpeduncular tract connects the septal area indirectly with the interpeduncular nucleus of the midbrain. (6) Thalamus - Dorsomedial and the anterior nuclei.

B. Water consumption
Lesions

- consume increased amounts of

water Chronic stimulation - decrease spontaneous drinking

C. Learning
Lesions

- learn tasks quickly and perform them effectively once they have been learned.

D.Autonomic effects
Stimulation

of the septal region has an inhibitory effect on autonomic function.

E. Reward
Stimulation
Destruction

- pleasure or rewarding effects.

F.Septal syndrome
of the septal nuclei gives rise to behavioral overreaction to environmental stimuli. Sexual and reproductive behavior, feeding, drinking, and the rage reaction.

SUMMARY

Limbic lobe - subcallosal gyrus, cingulate gyrus, isthmus, parahippocampal gyrus, and uncus. Limbic system refers to the limbic lobe and the structures connected to it. Limbic system function- emotional behavior, memory, homeostatic responses, sexual behavior, and motivation. Hippocampal formation - hippocampus, dentate gyrus, and subiculum.

SUMMARY
The hippocampus role - declarative or associative memory, attention and alertness, and behavioral, endocrine, and visceral functions. Amygdala output: the stria terminalis (dorsal amygdalofugal pathway) and the ventral amygdalofugal pathway (ventrofugal bundle).

SUMMARY

The amygdala functions- autonomic and orienting responses, emotional behavior, food intake, arousal, sexual activity, and motor activity. Septal area -septum pellucidum + septum verum. The septal area plays an important role in emotional behavior, learning, reward, autonomic responses, drinking and feeding, and sexual behavior.

Cingulate Gyrus

(Latin, belt or girdle). Anterior cingulate projects to the amygdala A portion of the anterior cingulate is nociceptive cortex Pyramidal neurons in the cingulate gyrus project to motor area and the striatum

Cingulate Gyrus
Anterior executive region -integrating affective and motor behaviour Stimulation of ANS

Stimulation-anxiety,

tics, impulsivity, and OCD Inhibition- apathy and akinesias such as the akinetic mutism with B/L cingulate lesions

Posterior cingulate - visual spatial and memory functions

Functional classification
Rostral limbic system: amygdala, septum, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior insula, and anterior cingulate - Important for emotion Caudal system: Hippocampus, posterior parahippocampal cortex and posterior cingulate Important for memory and visual-spatial functions

A.Episodic memory Hippocampus-mamillary

body-anterior and medial thalamic nuclei via the fornix and mamillothalamic tract. Basal forebrain cholinergic nuclei (nucleus basalis of meynert).

B. Semantic Memory
The

temporal, parietal, and occipital lobes, particularly the temporal neocortex B/L lesions in the above cortices eg. Herpes simplex encephalitis and Alzheimer's disease. Right hemisphere damage >> left hemisphere damage.

Temporal lobe epilepsy

Clinical Features
Olfactory

hallucinations (transient and recurrent ) Gustatory hallucinations Auditory hallucinations. Visual hallucinations (dj vu).

Temporal lobe epilepsy

Clinical Features Rhythmic

movements related to feeding (chewing, licking, swallowing). Complex motor acts i.e. walking, undressing, and twisting movements of trunk and extremities. Amnesia, which may last several hours or days.
Aggressive

behavior

Lesion Hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and amygdala. Cause-mesial temporal lobe sclerosis (47-70%) and tumor

Alzheimer's disease Degenerative

and polygenetic (AD, early onset- chromosomes 21, 14, and 1 late onset- chromosome 19 ) Recent (short-term) - remote (long-term) total loss of memory Disorientation to time, place, and person Behavioral changes such as depression, paranoia, and aggressiveness

Ctd

Pathology Gross-atrophic

gyri and widened sulci (limbic cortex). The association cortices . Microscopic neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. Neurochemical -APP (beta-amyloid or A4 amyloid) & tau protein

Herpes simplex encephalitis

Saliant Features
Focal

seizures, focal neurologic signs, and progressive deterioration of consciousness. Single most important cause of fatal sporadic encephalitis in the United States.

Ctd

Saliant Features Neuropathology

- severe focal necrotizing

process. Brain biopsy - diagnostic in intranuclear viral (Cowdry type A) inclusions and inflammation. MRI - most sensitive noninvasive

Summary
Amnesia - anterograde, retrograde, global, or modality-specific. Wernicke-Korsakoff's syndrome (B1 deficiency) - amnesia (anterograde and retrograde) and confabulation. Klver-Bucy syndrome due to lesion in Amygdela

Summary
Temporal lobe epilepsy - a combination of psychological and motor Alzheimer's disease - severe memory loss, disorientation, and behavioral changes. Lesion - in the entorhinal cortex.

References
Functional Neuroanatomy : Text And Atlas, 2nd Edition. Clinical Neuroanatomy : Neurobehavioral Approach. The Human Central Nervous System,4th Edition. Kaplan and Sadocks - Comprehensive Textbook Of Psychiatry-10TH Edition.

Thank you