The thalami are bilaterally symmetrical structures in the subcortical part of the brain that are cradled by the basal ganglia. They are major hubs of pretty much everything your brain does and all of the sensory information coming into the brain with the exception of smell.
More primitive models of the brain visualized it as a bunch of relatively isolated modules, each specialized to perform a single task when queried and able to send that information to wherever it should go. More modern ideas propose a more integrated picture, with various regions of the brain contributing to a more diffuse process through parallel connections with other network communities and hubs. It appears that nearly every integrated process in the brain is influenced at some level by thalamic modulation. You could characterize the Thalamus as a brain wide gateway to the cortex, modulator and mediator of inputs, coordinator of feedback, relay between higher cognitive areas, manager of brainstem nuclei, and facilitator of attention.
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