Abstract
The corticolimbic system (Fig. 1) integrates emotion with cognition and produces a behavioral output that must be flexible based on the environmental circumstances.1 The corticolimbic system circuitry of the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus is connected to the hypopituitary-pituitary axis, and environmental circumstances such as stress and anxiety input decision making, emotion regulation, and memory.1 The corticolimbic system is also the modulator for acute pain, a mediator for chronic pain, and critical for the chronification of pain.2 There is a high comorbidity of negative affective disorders with chronic pain and vice versa, hypothesized because of similar changes in neuroplasticity and overlapping neurobiological mechanisms.3 This article discusses 3 feline disorders that affect or are affected by the corticolimbic systems: the maladaptive pain disorder feline orofacial pain syndrome (FOPS) in which disease expression is influenced by environmental stress; feline hyperesthesia syndrome (FHS) in which there is still debate as to whether this is a primary neurobehavioral disorder or a behavioral response to a negative affective state; and limbic encephalitis, an autoimmune encephalitis that results in neurobehavioral signs and seizures. There is a focus on diagnosis and management, which is challenging in all 3 diseases.