Thalamus

All information from the environment or inner world of the body - from the spinal cord, brain stem and also from the cerebellum - reaches the nuclei of the thalamus via ascending orbital systems. There they are collected, interconnected and processed before they are fed via projection paths to the cerebral cortex where they are processed into conscious sensations.

Through the limbic system, which surrounds the thalamus like a hem, the information still receives its emotional components. The thalamus is also called the gate to consciousness.