limbic
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of limbic
First recorded in 1880–85; limb(us) 2 + -ic
Explanation
The adjective limbic describes a brain system that is largely responsible for regulating emotions. The limbic system is also where we form a lot of our memories. Limbic derives from the Latin limbus, or "edge," and it's used to describe anatomical structures that border another part. In the case of the brain, the limbic system sits along the edge of both sides of the thalamus. When it comes to emotions, your limbic system is crucial, since it regulates how you feel and how you react to those feelings, as well as affecting the way you learn, remember, and even how you identify odors.
Vocabulary lists containing limbic
Vocabulary from Readings 5, Unit 1
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The Summer of Lost Letters
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The Mechanical Mind of John Coggin
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Smell activates many parts of our brain, including our limbic system, which plays a key role in memory recall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2025
This innovative approach helped them pinpoint where these two systems interact in the brain -- specifically in a limbic region called the nucleus accumbens, which plays a key role in emotion, motivation, and reward processing.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 25, 2024
They found the model was most often looking to the default mode network, striatum, and the limbic network to make the call.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 19, 2024
In particular, they report, lower serotonin transporter levels were found in cortical, limbic, and subcortical regions of the brains in those with MCI, areas specifically responsible for executive function, emotion, and memory.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 7, 2023
That is why our brainstem is surrounded by the R-complex, then the limbic system and finally the cerebral cortex.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
