Limbic System. Psychology

Thalamus

• Relay station for sensory information* to the appropriate regions of the cortex
• *Except smell, which has its own pathway from the olfactory bulb to the brain

Hypothalamus

• Controls hunger, thirst, sexual behavior, sleeping and waking, and emotions
• Also controls the pituitary gland

Hippocampus

• Curved structure within each temporal lobe
• Forms long-term declarative memories and stores memory of the locations of objects

Amygdala

• Controls fear responses and memory of fearful stimuli

Dopamine Centers

• Ventral tegmental area
• Ventral pallidum
• Nucleus accumbens