In The Center: The Limbic System

The brain's limbic system is located beneath the cerebral cortex. Its main focus is on emotion and behaviors linked to emotion. It also has memory and olfaction (the sense of smell) functions. The limbic system is a vital part of the human brain, as it regulates several important bodily activities that explain how and why we behave the way we do. The four main parts of the limbic system are mapped out in the image below:

The Thalamus - the sensory switchboard of the brain; directs information from all senses, except smell, to and from the brain

The Hypothalamus - neural structure below (hypo) the thalamus; linked to emotion, maintains functions such as eating, drinking, and body temperature

The Amygdala - linked to emotions such as fear, aggression, rage, anger, and stress; experiments done with cats suggest that when the amygdala is electrically stimulated, the cat will become aggressive or fearful

The Hippocampus - a neural center that processes memory

As you can see in the image, there are two antenna like structures that form out in front of the limbic system. The olfaction bulbs maintain and direct information from the sense of smell, as the thalamus does the other four senses.