I believe the hypothalamus is involved in control of appetite and defensive and reproductive behaviours, which are functions of the limbic system, and according to this website http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/limbicsystem.html it would seem that it is part of the limbic system, however Wikipedia and other sites seem to disagree... Any help would be much appreciated :)
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
2
-
1$\begingroup$ Wikipedia does agree with you: "is part of the limbic system" :P $\endgroup$– mrtCommented Nov 6, 2015 at 0:56
-
$\begingroup$ Apologies- when looking at the page for the 'limbic system' it wasn't included in the main list of structures involved, so I assumed it wasn't a part... $\endgroup$– MeepCommented Nov 6, 2015 at 9:59
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
Short answer
Yes
Background
There is no universal agreement on the total list of structures comprising the limbic system. The brain regions constituting the limbic system according to Rajmohan & Mohandas (2007) are:
- Limbic cortex
- Cingulate gyrus
- Parahippocampal gyrus
- Hippocampal formation
- The dentate gyrus
- Hippocampus
- Subicular Complex
- Amygdala
- Septal area
- Hypothalamus
Note that wikipedia agrees on the inclusion of the hypothalamus. I dare say that in general the hypothalamus is included as an essential component of the limbic system, as it is involved in the expression of emotional responses, such as rage and fear (Purves et al, 2001).
References
- Purves et al, Neuroscience, 2nd ed. Sunderland (MA): Sinauer Associates; 2001
- Rajmohan & Mohandas Indian J Psychiatry (2007); 49(2): 132–9)