What does the Thalamus do? - News-Medical

The thalamus relays sensory impulses from receptors in various parts of the body to the cerebral cortex. A sensory impulse travels from the body surface ... Weusecookiestoenhanceyourexperience.Bycontinuingtobrowsethissiteyouagreetoouruseofcookies. Moreinfo. Accept CookieSettings WhatdoestheThalamusdo? DownloadPDFCopy BySallyRobertson,B.Sc.ReviewedbyDr.TomislavMeštrović,MD,Ph.D. Thedorsalthalamus,usuallysimplyreferredtoasthethalamusisasubdivisionofabrainareacalledthediencephalon,whichalsoincludestheeptithalamus,theventralthalamusandthesubthalamicthalamus. Verticalsectionofahumanbrain.showingthemedulla,pons,cerebellum,hypothalamus,thalamus,midbrain.ImageCopyright:Designua/Shutterstock Thethalamusrelayssensoryimpulsesfromreceptorsinvariouspartsofthebodytothecerebralcortex.Asensoryimpulsetravelsfromthebodysurfacetowardsthethalamus,whichreceivesitasasensation.Thissensationisthenpassedontothecerebralcortexforinterpretationastouch,painortemperature. Theprevailingopinionamongexpertsisthatthethalamusservesasakindof“gate,”filteringwhichinformationfromvariouschannelsisallowedtoberelayedbyitforprocessing.Detailedresearchhasshownthatspecificthalamicneuronscanmodulateinformationaltransferbyemployingspecificdischargemodes. Furthermore,thethalamusiscrucialforperception,with98%ofallsensoryinputbeingrelayedbyit.Theonlysensoryinformationthatisnotrelayedbythethalamusintothecerebralcortexisinformationrelatedtosmell(olfaction). 2-MinuteNeuroscience:TheThalamusPlay Thalamicnuclei RelatedStoriesAlarmingCOVIDstudyindicateslong-termlossofgraymatterandotherbraintissueViewingnostalgicimagesreducespainperceptionThethalamusismadeupofthreedistinctgroupsofcellsornucleiandtheseincludethefollowing: Sensoryrelaynuclei-Theseincludetheventralposteriornucleusandthelateralandmedialgeniculatebody.Thesenucleirelayprimarysensations,bypassingspecificsensoryinformationtothecorrespondingcorticalarea.Forexample,thelateralgeniculatebodyreceivesinformationfromtheoptictract,andthenoutputsthatinformationtotheprimaryvisualcortex. Associationnuclei-Thesereceiveinputfromspecificareasofthecerebralcortex,whichisthenprojectedbacktothecerebralcortextosomewhatgeneralizedassociationareas,wheretheyregulateactivity. Non-specificnuclei-Theseincludetheintralaminarandmidlinethalamicnuclei,whichbothreceiveinputfromthecerebralcortexandprojectinformationdiffuselythroughit.Mostofthesenucleiinterconnectbrainactivitybetweendifferentareasofthebrainandplayaroleingeneralfunctionssuchasalerting. Asidefromolfaction,inallsensoryprocessing,asensorysignalisreceivedbyathalamicnucleusandthendirectedtotherelevantcorticalarea. Theinvolvementofthalamicnucleiinsensorysystems Inthevisualsystem,thethalamusreceivesinputfromtheretina,whichisrelayedtothebrainviatheopticnerve.Signalsaresenttothelateralgeniculatenucleusofthethalamuswhichthenforwardsthemontotheprimaryvisualcortex(areaV1)intheoccipitallobe.Thethalamusnotonlyrelaystheinformationbutalsoprocessesit,aseachoftheprimarysensoryrelayareasreceivesinformationbackfromthecerebralcortex(calledbackprojections). Ontheotherhand,themedialgeniculatenucleirelayauditoryinformationbetweentheinferiorcolliculusofthemidbrainandtheprimaryauditorycortex.Thethalamusisalsoimportantfortouch-theventralposteriornucleirelayinformationregardingtouchandperceptionofbodilypositiontotheprimarysomatosensorycortexinthecerebralcortex. Inaddition,thethalamicnucleiarestronglyandreciprocallylinkedwiththecerebralcortex.Theseformthethalamo-cortico-thalamiccircuitswhicharethoughttoregulateconsciousnessandthethalamusplaysasignificantroleinarousal,wakefulnessandalertness.Damagetothethalamusisassociatedwithasignificantriskofcoma. Sources http://www.britannica.com/science/thalamus https://www.dartmouth.edu/~rswenson/NeuroSci/chapter_10.html http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3712252/ http://www.cogsci.ucsd.edu/~pineda/COGS107A/studyguide/module_08.htm FurtherReadingAllThalamusContentThalamus-WhatistheThalamus?ThalamusDevelopment LastUpdated:Feb27,2019 WrittenbySallyRobertsonSallyfirstdevelopedaninterestinmedicalcommunicationswhenshetookontheroleofJournalDevelopmentEditorforBioMedCentral(BMC),afterhavinggraduatedwithadegreeinbiomedicalsciencefromGreenwichUniversity. DownloadPDFCopy CitationsPleaseuseoneofthefollowingformatstocitethisarticleinyouressay,paperorreport:APARobertson,Sally.(2019,February27).WhatdoestheThalamusdo?.News-Medical.RetrievedonMay27,2022fromhttps://www.news-medical.net/health/What-does-the-Thalamus-do.aspx.MLARobertson,Sally."WhatdoestheThalamusdo?".News-Medical.27May2022..ChicagoRobertson,Sally."WhatdoestheThalamusdo?".News-Medical.https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-does-the-Thalamus-do.aspx.(accessedMay27,2022).HarvardRobertson,Sally.2019.WhatdoestheThalamusdo?.News-Medical,viewed27May2022,https://www.news-medical.net/health/What-does-the-Thalamus-do.aspx. Comments Ifanindividualsuffersastrokewhichdamagessectionsofthethalamus TerrieVacchiano says: September29,2016at8:16PM Ifanindividualsuffersastrokewhichdamagessectionsofthethalamuscananythingbedonetorehabilitate? 0 0 Reply goodstuff DoraContreras says: November8,2016at3:21PM goodstuff 0 0 Reply WhatistheroleofthethalamusinEssentialTremor? EileenKeim says: December5,2016at12:36PM WhatistheroleofthethalamusinEssentialTremor? 0 0 Reply TheopinionsexpressedherearetheviewsofthewriteranddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsandopinionsofNewsMedical. 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