thalamus
Americannoun
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Anatomy. the middle part of the diencephalon through which sensory impulses pass to reach the cerebral cortex.
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Botany. a receptacle or torus.
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Also called thalamium. an apartment for women in an ancient Greek house.
noun
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either of the two contiguous egg-shaped masses of grey matter at the base of the brain
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both of these masses considered as a functional unit
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the receptacle or torus of a flower
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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postthalamicadjective
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subthalamicadjective
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thalamicadjective
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transthalamicadjective
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thalamicallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of thalamus
1695–1705; < New Latin; Latin: bedroom < Greek thálamos
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Explanation
The thalamus is an egg-shaped mass of gray matter that's located in the middle of the brain. The thalamus is responsible for transmitting sensory signals between different parts of the brain. The thalamus plays a crucial role in regulating consciousness, sleep, and alertness by directing sensory information to different parts of the brain. It receives input from sensory organs such as the eyes, ears, and skin and then relays that information to other regions of the brain for further processing. This important structure, which is located near the center of the brain, gets its name from the Greek word thalamos, which means "inner chamber."
Vocabulary lists containing thalamus
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The researchers observed that nerve fibers from the thalamus grew toward the cortex, while cortical fibers extended toward the thalamus.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 7, 2026
The cortical tissue connected to the thalamus showed signs of greater maturity, indicating that thalamus cortex communication promotes cortical growth and development.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 7, 2026
They found that neural activity spread from the thalamus into the cortex in wave like patterns, creating synchronized activity across cortical networks.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 7, 2026
The team identified three transcriptional regulators essential for maintaining memories: Camta1 and Tcf4 in the thalamus, and Ash1l in the anterior cingulate cortex.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 30, 2025
Thal′amic, pertaining to the optic thalamus, a part of the brain near the origin of the optic nerve; Thal′ami-flō′ral, having the parts of the flower inserted on the thalamus or receptacle.—n.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various
Their brains are fused together by a neural bridge that connects them at their respective thalami.
From Slate ● Apr. 30, 2018
The two thalami touch in the center in most brains as the massa intermedia, which is surrounded by the third ventricle.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
The thalami are two elongated, ovoid structures on either side of the midline that make contact in the middle.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
We see the quadrigemina on the back of the ascending fibres and their connection by fibres with the cerebellum behind, as they connect with the thalami in front.
From Buchanan's Journal of Man, May 1887 Volume 1, Number 4 by Buchanan, Joseph R. (Joseph Rodes)
The cavity of this ventricle is of small size in the living head, for the inner surfaces of the two thalami are connected together by intermediate grey matter, named the middle or soft commissure.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Slice 4 "Bradford, William" to "Brequigny, Louis" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
