thalamus

[ thal-uh-muhs ]

noun

, plural thal·a·mi [thal, -, uh, -mahy].

1. Anatomy. the middle part of the diencephalon through which sensory impulses pass to reach the cerebral cortex.
2. Botany. a receptacle or torus.
3. Also called thalamium. an apartment for women in an ancient Greek house.

thalamus

/ ˈθæləməs; θəˈlæmɪk /

noun

1. either of the two contiguous egg-shaped masses of grey matter at the base of the brain
2. both of these masses considered as a functional unit
3. the receptacle or torus of a flower

thalamus

/ thăl′ə-məs /

, Plural thalami thăl′ə-mī′

1. The part of the vertebrate brain that lies at the rear of the forebrain. It relays sensory information to the cerebral cortex and regulates the perception of touch, pain, and temperature.

thalamus

1. The part of the brain that coordinates nerve impulses relating to the senses of sight, hearing, touch, and taste.

Derived Forms

• thalamic, adjective
• thaˈlamically, adverb

Other Words From

• tha·lam·ic [th, uh, -, lam, -ik], adjective
• tha·lami·cal·ly adverb
• posttha·lamic adjective
• subtha·lamic adjective
• transtha·lamic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of thalamus¹

1695–1705; < New Latin; Latin: bedroom < Greek thálamos

Word History and Origins

Origin of thalamus¹

C18: from Latin, Greek thalamos inner room; probably related to Greek tholos vault

Example Sentences

In a new study recently published in the journal PLoS Biology, researchers from LMU, the University of Freiburg, and the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience analyzed neural activity in the visual thalamus.

From Science Daily

In the new study, Busse's team directly compared the activity measured in the thalamus with the degree of arousal.

From Science Daily

"The electrical activity in the visual thalamus is coupled with the pupil dynamics over timeframes ranging from seconds to several minutes."

From Science Daily

This technical advance allowed them to identify previously unseen pathways connecting the brainstem, thalamus, hypothalamus, basal forebrain, and cerebral cortex.

From Science Daily

When we talk about human consciousness, what seems to be required is a cortex … And that needs to be connected to the thalamus, to the eyes, to the ears, to all the other sensors, as well as to the interior body.

From Salon