- The thalamus serves as the central relay station for most sensory information traveling to the cerebral cortex.
- It receives sensory inputs such as visual, auditory, tactile, and proprioceptive signals and then processes and forwards these signals to the appropriate areas of the cerebral cortex for further interpretation.
- The thalamus plays a crucial role in regulating consciousness, sleep, and alertness by filtering and prioritizing sensory data.
- In contrast, the hypothalamus primarily controls autonomic and endocrine functions, the medulla oblongata manages vital autonomic functions like breathing and heart rate, and the basal ganglia are involved in motor control and coordination rather than sensory relay.

Therefore, the thalamus is the key structure for sensory signal integration before higher-level processing occurs in the cortex.

Reference: Principles of Neural Science, 5th Edition, Chapter 11: The Thalamus and Sensory Systems