Brainstem: Medulla & Pons

1. Brainstem: Medulla & Pons

2. Reticular Formation

3. Thalamus Thalamic Pain Syndrome Thalamic Pain Syndrome

4. Cerebellum = “little brain” • helps us judge time • nonverbal • learning/memory • discriminate • sounds/textures • coordinate voluntary • movement Cerebellar ataxia Ataxic Gait

5. Limbic System • 1. Hypothalamus • 2. Amygdala • 3. Hippocampus

6. Hypothalamus: Where is it?

7. 1. Hypothalamus • Subdivided into different functional areas • Involved in the regulation of: • Hunger • Thirst • Body temperature • Sexual behavior • Contains “reward” centers (pleasure centers) (Olds/Milner) • Reward centers often release dopamine • Addictive behaviors: “reward deficiency syndrome”?

8. Functional Areas of the Hypothalamus

9. 2. Amygdala Amygdala

10. Amygdala • Two structures, right and left • Each is the size of a lima bean • Sit posterior to the hypothalamus • Perception of fear and aggression • Processing emotion-laden memories • Kluver & Bucy • Destroyed amygdala in monkeys • Ill-tempered to mellow • Stimulate amygdala: • 1 spot, extreme aggression • Another spot, extreme fearfulness

11. Kluver-Bucy Syndrome • 1. Psychic blindness (inability to recognize familiar objects) • 2. Hypermetamorphosis (strong tendency to react to visual stimulus) • 3. Increased oral exploration (putting things in the mouth) • 4. Placidity (marked decreased fear response) • 5. Indiscriminate hypersexuality • 6. Hyperphagia/Eating nonfood items

12. 3. Hippocampus

13. Hippocampus • Involved in memory formation (names, images, events) • Memories formed but not stored • Very active during sleep; memories are processed and filed for later retrieval • Left hippocampus: memories of verbal information • Right hippocampus: memories of visual information and locations

14. Damage to the Hippocampus