<p>The parahippocampal gyrus is a region which is responsible for many functions, most notably for short-term working memory. The left-hand side is related to more verbal processes than the right, the right hand side has more to do with forming associations. This area of the brain has much to do with the encoding and recognition of scenes; this area of the brain becomes active when taking in topographical scenes (images of cities, landscapes, and rooms—images of places).&nbsp; Furthermore, this area is involved in procedural memory consolidation, recognition, and recall. It is a component part of the networks for autobiographical memory, embarrassment, and regret.&nbsp;</p><p><b>Pituitary:</b> The pituitary is a small pea-size master gland of the endocrine system that sits in a bony depression beneath the hypothalamus. Its job deals with directing chemical changes to regulate the entire organic system.</p><p><b>Reticular formation:</b> The reticular formation is at the core of the brainstem and plays a vital role in sleep, emotion, breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate.&nbsp;</p><p><b>Thalamus:</b> The thalamus is an egg-shaped structure deep within the brain that acts as a relay station, receiving information from all senses (except olfactory) processing the data and passing it up into the cerebral cortex.</p><p><br></p><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="@@PLUGINFILE@@/the-limbic-system.png" alt="The Limbic System" width="258" height="179" class="img-responsive atto_image_button_text-bottom"><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Proponents of the collective unconscious theory in neuroscience have suggested that neurobiological correlates to the collective unconscious are the subcortical areas of the brain, specifically the thalamus (which oscillates in delta, theta, and alpha rhythms). The thalamus operates like a regulatory gateway, since all of the sensory input that comes into the brain, and all motor output, goes through the thalamus. The thalamus regulates what goes in and what goes out.&nbsp; Because these structures are located centrally, linking the brain with the rest of the nervous system, they are said to control vital processes, such as emotions and long-term memory (Hunt, 2012). Arousal occurs in the face of a threat, triggered by the amygdala, which is an almond shaped structure in the brain responsible for mediating the fear response. The amygdala locks down the hippocampus so as to react by shutting down this structure, the seat of the memory (LeDoux, 1998b). LeDoux speculates, however, that psychoanalysis works by strengthening the cortical control of the amygdala. In fact, the face-to face reciprocity between infant and mother is crucial for the development of the pre-frontal cortex, which serves to mediate the amygdala and regulate affect (Schore, 1994, 2003; Siegel, 1999; Stern, 2013; Tronick, 2007).</p><p>Sigmund Freud, quite rightly, believed that mental activity was rooted in phylogenically-old emotion and motivation systems, which were constructed in early mental development, and instantiated throughout later adult life (LeDoux, 1998a; Panskepp, 1998). Thus, affective reactivity, such as dissociation, can be seen as a return to nonverbal, largely unconscious parts of the brain. These are areas that can influence the higher-ordered neo-mammalian brain (Cozolino, 2002, p. 6). Furthermore, these older regions are innervated by the vagus nerve, which literally means “wandering nerve.” The vagus nerve is also called the "wandering nerve" because it's the longest nerve in the human body and has countless branches that wind their way from the brainstem all the way down to the lowest part of the intestines, touching most major organs along the way. The vagus nerve is the tenth cranial nerve and is the main afferent pathway connecting the gut to the brain. This nerve modulates the parasympathetic nervous system, which counterbalances the fight, flight, or freeze stress response by eliciting the so-called "relaxation response."</p><p><br></p><p style="text-align: center;"><img src="@@PLUGINFILE@@/the-limbic-system-3.png" alt="THE LIMBIC SYSTEM" width="342" height="1000" class="img-responsive atto_image_button_text-bottom"><br></p><p style="text-align: center;"><br></p><p style="text-align: left;">A study released in June of 2015 noted the discovery of vessels directly connecting the brain and the lymphatic system, a finding which will likely have continual substantial implications for major neurological diseases and also more common psychopathologies (Louveau et al., 2015). This finding changes the way scientists perceive neuro-immune interaction, and may make the link between the body and the brain/mind something beyond esotericism.&nbsp;<br></p>