Amygdala and hippocampus circuits that process emotion and form memories.
Amygdala processes fear and emotional memory; hippocampus forms new memories and spatial maps; cingulate cortex and hypothalamus connect emotion with bodily response.
The amygdala assigns emotional significance. The hippocampus consolidates memory. The limbic system interacts with the cortex to modulate behaviour.
Remember: the limbic concept is somewhat outdated but still useful.
Amygdala and hippocampus circuits that process emotion and form memories.
Limbic System is one of the 54 topics in Neuroscience. It is rated Intermediate, so it suits learners who already know the core vocabulary. Related topics in this area include Learning and Memory Basics, Hippocampus and Memory Consolidation, Hypothalamus and Pituitary.
PTSD involves a hyperactive amygdala and reduced prefrontal control.
Work through the Beginner topics in Neuroscience first, such as Nervous System, Neuron, Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems, then return to Limbic System. Intermediate topics assume the Beginner vocabulary.
The closest topics to Limbic System are Learning and Memory Basics, Hippocampus and Memory Consolidation, Hypothalamus and Pituitary, Taste and Smell. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Limbic System. To practise the whole of Neuroscience, use the Neuroscience quiz.
Limbic System: Amygdala and hippocampus circuits that process emotion and form memories. Learning and Memory Basics: Experience changes brain connections, forming short-term and long-term memories. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with Learning and Memory Basics and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Neuroscience quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Experience changes brain connections, forming short-term and long-term memories.
🧠 NeuroscienceThe hippocampus encodes new episodic memories and gradually transfers them to the cortex during sleep.
🧠 NeuroscienceThe hypothalamus links the nervous and endocrine systems by controlling pituitary hormone release.
🧠 NeuroscienceChemoreceptors in taste buds and olfactory epithelium detect dissolved and airborne molecules.
🧠 Neuroscience