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Limbic system

The limbic system (or paleomammalian brain) is a complex set of brain structures that lies on both sides of the thalamus, right under the cerebrum.

It is not a separate system, but a collection of structures from the telencephalon, diencephalon, and mesencephalon.

Parts

It includes the olfactory bulbs, hippocampus, amygdala, anterior thalamic nucleus, fornix, columns of fornix, mammillary body, septum pellucidum, habenular commissure, cingulate gyrus, Parahippocampal gyrus, limbic cortex, and limbic midbrain areas.

Functions

The limbic system supports a variety of functions, including emotion, behavior, motivation, long-term memory, and olfaction.

It appears to be primarily responsible for emotional life, and it has a great deal to do with the formation of memories.

Some neuroscientists, including Joseph LeDoux, have suggested that the concept of a functionally unified limbic system should be abandoned as obsolete because it is grounded mainly in historical concepts of brain anatomy that are no longer accepted as accurate.

Limbic surgery

see Limbic surgery.