Hypothalamus And Limbic System ANHB 2217 – 2006 Avinash Bharadwaj
Hypothalamus A small area with great activity Crossroads : Somatic and visceral activity Emotion and responses Olfaction, memory and responses Short- and long control loops “Preservation” Feeding Hunger and satiety Defence Somatic and visceral activity Reproduction Sex drive and autonomic responses Homoeostasis Temperature and osmolar regulation
Hypothalamus : Topography Column of fornix Paraventricular Anterior Supraoptic Posterior Dorsomedial Ventromedial Mamillary body Medial Zone Pituitary
Connections Efferent Autonomic nuclei – brainstem, spinal cord Striated muscle : Brainstem + Spinal motor neurons (feeding / shivering…) Mamillary body thalamus cingulate gyrus – memory, visceral expression of emotion Mamillary body brainstem reticular formation ? Higher mental function through cortex Afferent Somatic and visceral information Olfactory areas Emotional / olfactory : amygdaloid nucleus Hippocampal input via fornix – mamillary body Cerebral cortex (esp. orbital cortex
Some Functional Correlations Problems in Studying… Indistinct nuclear boundaries Tracts and nuclei – crisscross Imprecise experimental / clinical lesions Some Functional Correlations Clinical / experimental Anterior / preoptic : parasympathetic Posterior / lateral : sympathetic Temperature sensors – vasodilation and sweating OR constriction and shivering. Hunger and satiety centres : blood glucose, visceral afferents, smell, limbic inputs Intrinsic sensors
The Pituitary Connection – 1 PV SO A P Vasopressin (ADH) Oxytocin Large neurons (magnocellular) Peptides and neurophysins Herring bodies Cleavage and release A
The Pituitary Connection – 2 “Adenohypophysis” Target gland hormone levels… Small neurones (parvocellular) Releasing factor (hormone) Blood vessels Portal system A
Summary Weaving together Autonomic and endocrine controls Homeostasis Higher centres
Limbic System Limbic lobe and limbic system “Limbus” Lobe : hippocampus, PHG, cingulate gyrus System : Also includes Dentate gyrus, amygdaloid, septal area, mamillary bodies, thalamic nuclei
Limbic System Cingulum and cingulate gyrus Fornix Ant nucl thalamus Mamillary body Fornix Ant nucl thalamus Mamillary body Hippocampus Dentate gyrus Parahippocampal gyrus Amygdala
Hippocampus
Limbic System Memory Emotion “Preservation” The olfactory connection Visceral responses Last Slide