thalamus

noun

thal·​a·​mus ˈtha-lə-məs How to pronounce thalamus (audio)
plural thalami ˈtha-lə-ˌmī How to pronounce thalamus (audio) -ˌmē How to pronounce thalamus (audio)
: 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
thalamic adjective

Examples of thalamus in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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 After a first try with a vagus nerve stimulator, which didn’t work, Dr. Mohamad Khaled and Dr. Patrick Senatus of Hartford HealthCare’s Ayer Neuroscience Institute placed a deep-brain stimulator into Duff’s chest, with leads to a spot in his thalamus. Ed Stannard, Hartford Courant, 29 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for thalamus 

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek thalamos chamber

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of thalamus was in 1859

Dictionary Entries Near thalamus

Cite this Entry

“Thalamus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thalamus. Accessed 7 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

thalamus

noun
thal·​a·​mus ˈthal-ə-məs How to pronounce thalamus (audio)
plural thalami -ˌmī How to pronounce thalamus (audio)
-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 How to pronounce thalamus (audio)
plural thalami -ˌmī How to pronounce thalamus (audio) -ˌmē How to pronounce thalamus (audio)
: 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

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