The Papez circuit is a limbic system circuit critical for emotional memory formation. Which of the following correctly lists the sequential nodes of the Papez circuit?

• A Hippocampus → fornix → mammillary bodies → anterior thalamic nuclei → cingulate cortex → entorhinal cortex → hippocampus ✓
• B Amygdala → stria terminalis → hypothalamus → anterior thalamus → prefrontal cortex → amygdala
• C Hippocampus → fornix → septal nuclei → habenula → interpeduncular nucleus → hippocampus
• D Entorhinal cortex → perforant path → dentate gyrus → CA3 → Schaffer collateral → CA1 → subiculum → entorhinal cortex

Explanation

The Papez circuit proposed by James Papez in 1937 runs: hippocampus → fornix → mammillary bodies (of hypothalamus) → mammillothalamic tract → anterior thalamic nuclei → cingulate cortex (cingulum) → entorhinal/parahippocampal cortex → hippocampus. This circuit is critical for emotional experience and episodic memory consolidation. Option B describes the amygdala-hypothalamus pathway (a different limbic circuit). Option C describes the habenular pathway involved in aversion. Option D describes the trisynaptic hippocampal circuit within the hippocampus itself, distinct from the broader Papez circuit.

Reference: Guyton & Hall, Textbook of Medical Physiology, 14th ed.

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