/ English Dictionary |
LIMBIC SYSTEM
Pronunciation (US): | (GB): |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A system of functionally related neural structures in the brain that are involved in emotional behavior
Synonyms:
limbic brain; limbic system; visceral brain
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("limbic system" is a kind of...):
neural structure (a structure that is part of the nervous system)
Meronyms (parts of "limbic system"):
fornix; trigonum cerebrale (an arched bundle of white fibers at the base of the brain by which the hippocampus of each hemisphere projects to the contralateral hippocampus and to the thalamus and mamillary bodies)
amygdala; amygdaloid nucleus; corpus amygdaloideum (an almond-shaped neural structure in the anterior part of the temporal lobe of the cerebrum; intimately connected with the hypothalamus and the hippocampus and the cingulate gyrus; as part of the limbic system it plays an important role in motivation and emotional behavior)
hippocampus (a complex neural structure (shaped like a sea horse) consisting of grey matter and located on the floor of each lateral ventricle; intimately involved in motivation and emotion as part of the limbic system; has a central role in the formation of memories)
cingulate gyrus; gyrus cinguli (a long curved structure on the medial surface of the cerebral hemispheres; the cortical part of the limbic system)
Context examples:
Loxapine succinate exerts its actions by blocking the dopamine receptors at postsynaptic receptor sites in the limbic system, cortical system and basal ganglia, thereby reducing the hallucinations and delusions that are associated with schizophrenia.
(Loxapine Succinate, NCI Thesaurus)
The amygdala is part of the limbic system, a brain region associated with emotions and learning involved in negative emotional processing, such as fear and disgust, as well as in the processing of memories that contain emotions.
(Researchers identify area of the amygdala involved in taste aversion, University of Granada)