Male Behaviors I: Brain Areas Regulating Male Behaviors

Abstract

Cortical and subcortical brain areas regulating behaviors Neural connections and functions The basic structural organization of brain areas and their neural connections is important to understand the biological mechanisms of behaviors. In this chapter, we shall first discuss the most visible areas on the surface of the brain, the cerebral cortex. The cortical areas receive sensory inputs, control motor outputs and also various behaviors. The cortical areas are the frontal, parietal and temporal lobes. Another cortical area which is deeply seated is the insula. The cortical area which is visualized on the medial surface of brain is the limbic lobe. The brain areas forming the limbic lobe are the hippocampus, parahippocampus and cingulate cortex. The deeper subcortical brain areas regulating behavior are the amygdala (AMG), hypothalamus, ventral pallidum (VP) and septal region. The subcortical brain areas along with the limbic lobe constitute the limbic system. In the last part of this chapter, few structures in the brainstem such as the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra (SN) are also discussed (see Figs. 17.1, 17.2 and 17.3). The discussions will be based on various studies done in animals and few studies in humans. The neural connections are described in terms of incoming projections or afferents and outgoing projections or efferents. The functions and neurotransmitters of all the neural connections of brain areas are not yet clear. But the defined functions of the neural connections that regulate behaviors have been mentioned in this chapter.