mammillary bodies
Brain memory structures
The mammillary bodies are a pair of small, round structures at the base of the brain, part of the limbic system involved in memory processing.
Damage to them—often from chronic alcohol abuse or thiamine deficiency—causes severe memory impairment, particularly the inability to form new memories.
The name comes from their breast-like shape.
Pathological loss of recall
- anterograde amnesiaInability to create memories
- recollectionRecalled mental image
- encodingConverting data to format
- retrievalAct of getting back
spatial memory · confabulation · thiamine deficiency · alcoholism · cognitive impairment · forgetting · learning · neuropsychology
Subthalamic regulatory brain region
- limbic systemEmotional brain structures
- thalamusBrain's signal switchboard
- hippocampusMemory formation region
- fornixArched anatomical structure
brainstem · papillary · grey matter · cerebrum · neural circuit · white matter · ventricles
Position relative to surroundings
- information processingHandling and interpreting data
- navigationDetermining position and course
amnesia
Pathological loss of recall
- anterograde amnesiaInability to create memories
- recollectionRecalled mental image
- encodingConverting data to format
retrieval · spatial memory · confabulation · thiamine deficiency · alcoholism · cognitive impairment · forgetting · learning · neuropsychology · memory loss
hypothalamus
Subthalamic regulatory brain region
- limbic systemEmotional brain structures
- thalamusBrain's signal switchboard
- hippocampusMemory formation region
fornix · brainstem · papillary · grey matter · cerebrum · neural circuit · white matter · ventricles
orientation
Position relative to surroundings
- information processingHandling and interpreting data
- navigationDetermining position and course
- neuroanatomybrain, cerebellum, cerebral cortex, thalamus, hypothalamus
- brain regionscerebrum, frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe
- diencephalonthalamus, hypothalamus, pineal gland, third ventricle
- Hypothalamusthermoregulation, homeostasis, appetite control, circadian rhythm, osmoregulation
- limbic systemhippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, fornix, entorhinal cortex
- brainstembrainstem, brain stem, medulla, medulla oblongata, pons
mamma, mammalian, mammary, mammogram, mammography, mammographic