limbic system

The word limbic means border. Originally "limbic" was used to describe the border structures around the base of the cerebrum, but has now been expanded to mean the entire neuronal circuitry that controls emotional behavior & motivational drives.

References

Textbook of Medical Physiology, 8th ed., AC Guyton, WB Saunders, Philadelphia, 1991, pg 651

Components

amygdala cingulate gyrus; gyrus cinguli; cingulate cortex hippocampus (hippocampal formation) hypothalamus medial septal nucleus olfactory bulb olfactory tract reward center septal nucleus