A reverberating circuit of the limbic system structures was described by James Papez in 1937. It connects the cingulate gyrus to the parahippocampal gyrus to the hippocampus to the mammillary bodies to the anterior nucleus of the thalamus and then back to the cingulate gyrus. Since then many other structures (e.g., amygdala) and their connections have been added to the “limbic system”, as this portion of the brain was designated by Paul MacLean in the 1950’s as part of his popular “triune brain” theory.
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