Regions of the Brain Involving Emotion

The Limbic System

The Limbic System is a complex brain structure that lies on either side of the thalamus, a section of the brain under the cerebrum. It supports many different functions like behavior, emotion, motivation and memory. Its main importance is for the well being of the emotional life of the individual, and with the formation of memories. Several parts of the brain connected to this system are the hypothalamus, amygdala, and the hippocampus.

Hypothalamus

 The Hyothalamus is a region in the brain that has a lot to do with motivation, emotion, learning and memory located on the lower end of the top top pat of the brain stem. It is the main region that releases hormones into the brain that controls hunger, thirst, sex drive, mood and others. This is the part of the brain that can show your emotions based on facial expressions and body posture. In animals, stimulation of the hypothalamus can lead to aggression indicating emotions such as anger or fear.  

Hippocampus

The hippocampus is a region of the brain backwards facing and shaped like a “U” inside the temporal lobes and adjacent to the amygdala. It’s mainly responsible for the consolidation of new memoires, emotional responses, navigation, and spatial orientation. The amygdala stimulates the hippocampus by releasing several different neurotransmitters.

Amygdala

Located in the temporal lobes, the amygdala mainly controls the formation and storage of memories associated with emotionally relevant events. Inside the amygdala,distinct neurons respond to positive and negative stimuli in different ways. Similar to the Hippocampus, stimulating the amygdala appears to increase both sexual and aggressive behavior.