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Many members of our Western civilization experience emotion as a potentially overwhelming force that warrants and yet resists control, as something irrational (“you make me so angry”). Perhaps in part, this schism between the rational and the emotional is due to the raw energy of emotion having its source in the nuclei of the ancient limbic lobe; what some have referred to as the “reptilian brain” — a series of nuclei that first made their phylogenetic appearance long before man walked upon this earth.
Hence, although over the course of evolution a new brain (neocortex) has developed, we remain creatures of emotion. We have not completely emerged from the phylogenetic swamps of our original psychic existence. The old limbic brain has not been replaced.
Buried within the depths of the cerebrum are several large aggregates of limbic neurons. These are preeminent in the mediation and expression of emotional, motivational, sexual, and social behavior and control and monitor internal homeostasis and basic needs such as hunger and thirst. These aggregates include the hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, septal nuclei, cingulate, various thalamic nuclei, portions of the reticular activating system, the orbital frontal lobes, certain nuclei of the cerebellum, and other structures that together form the limbic system (Figure 1).
Of specific concern in this paper are the hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, and septal nuclei, the socioemotional and psychic functions they mediate, and the neural circuitry that supports their activity. Limbic laterality, temporal lobe epilepsy, hallucinations and memory, and select aspects of psychological and unconscious