Thalamo-Centric View of the Brain

The usual view of the brain could be said to be cortico-centric. The Thalamus is central to the brain, positionally and with respect to the network of nerves, so we present a thalamo-centric view of the brain as a balancing perspective.

The cortico-centric view looks upon on the cortex functioning as a theater of the mind and as a sheet of massively parallel neurons arranged in about six layers. Then each major sensory and motor system pathway is displayed in turn. It de-emphasizes or misses the fact that the Thalamus is directly connected to most of those modalities, as well as the reticular formation which regulates wakefulness.

The Thalamus is a brain within the brain:

• It is brain shaped (roughly) and is connected to the grand sensors and the cortex. It has interconnecting tissue between its two lobes just like the corpus callosum.
• Shares the most central, most protected part of the brain with the hypothalamus and the third ventricle. The Thalamus is tucked under the Corpus Callosum which is partly folded around it.
• It is cushioned by the third ventricle of the brain, where it sits on either side. The two thalamic lobes are connected by a pathway through the third ventricle.

The Thalamus connects the Optic, Acoustic, Head Somesthetic and Body Somesthetic sensors with the appropriate areas of the cortex. The Thalamus is a central relay station for all the main sensory systems except for the olfactory system. Additionally it connects to the cerebellum and the hypothalamus, next to it.

Ultimately both views are parts of a unified view. The Thalamus and the Cortex negotiate what state to be in, particularly when it comes to Alpha and Beta. The Thalamus negotiates with the reticular formation about wakefulness (the transitions between Delta and the higher states).