What is the Thalamus?
The thalamus, coined from the Greek word for “chamber”, thálamos, is the part of the brain responsible for signal relaying and prioritization. It consists of twin bulb-shaped regions, the thalami, symmetrical about the brain’s midline. They are so close to the center of the brain that they occasionally interconnect, but typically don’t. The thalamus is part of the limbic system, the region of the brain largely associated with the emotions. The thalamus is best known as the final relay station for perceptual data before it is passed on to the cerebral cortex. It receives input from diverse brain areas, primarily including all the senses except olfaction. It is also responsible for regulating motor control. The sensory apparatus of the human body registers a tremendous amount of information, far more information than can be put to good use. The thalamus joins a series of other machinery whose purpose is to distill sensory information into a more interpretable and manageable form for high
