thalamus
noun
thal·a·mus
ˈtha-lə-məs 
plural thalami
ˈtha-lə-ˌmī
-ˌmē
-ˌmē
: the largest subdivision of the diencephalon that consists chiefly of an ovoid mass of nuclei in each lateral wall of the third ventricle and serves chiefly to relay impulses and especially sensory impulses to and from the cerebral cortex see brain illustration
Examples of thalamus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
When David gets a glimpse of a map of the brain that Ben’s been looking at, one that shows the 60-ish regions connected to the thalamus — regions including those that control sight, sound, sleep regulation, visual reasoning, judgment, like, all the biggies — something dawns on him.
—
Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2024
When your brain takes in other senses like sight and hearing, that information first passes through the thalamus (its sensory processing center), meaning smell takes a quicker route straight to the amygdala and hippocampus.
—Lauren Mazzo, SELF, 8 Oct. 2024
In the same participants, higher estrogen receptor density in different brain regions, including the thalamus, was linked to mood changes, such as depression.3
Mosconi said the study is the first, to the best of their knowledge, to show three things.
—Jennifer Chesak, Verywell Health, 17 July 2024
These include the ripples of electrical activity from the hippocampus that probably reflect replay—and which coincide with the troughs of sleep spindles originating in the thalamus.
—Ingrid Wickelgren, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for thalamus 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2024
When your brain takes in other senses like sight and hearing, that information first passes through the thalamus (its sensory processing center), meaning smell takes a quicker route straight to the amygdala and hippocampus.
—Lauren Mazzo, SELF, 8 Oct. 2024
In the same participants, higher estrogen receptor density in different brain regions, including the thalamus, was linked to mood changes, such as depression.3
Mosconi said the study is the first, to the best of their knowledge, to show three things.
—Jennifer Chesak, Verywell Health, 17 July 2024
These include the ripples of electrical activity from the hippocampus that probably reflect replay—and which coincide with the troughs of sleep spindles originating in the thalamus.
—Ingrid Wickelgren, Scientific American, 1 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for thalamus
Dictionary Entries Near thalamus
Cite this Entry
“Thalamus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thalamus. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
thalamus
noun
thal·a·mus
ˈthal-ə-məs
plural thalami
-ˌmī
-ˌmē
: a subdivision of the forebrain that receives nerve impulses and sends them on to the appropriate parts of the brain cortex
Medical Definition
thalamus
noun
thal·a·mus
ˈthal-ə-məs
: the largest subdivision of the diencephalon that consists chiefly of an ovoid mass of nuclei in each lateral wall of the third ventricle and serves to relay impulses and especially sensory impulses to and from the cerebral cortex
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share