This structure sits within the brain at the level of the temporal lobe. It is well protected in this location. The thalamus receives and organizes sensory information from the periphery. Sense of sight, touch, hearing, and taste pass through the thalamus and on their way to other structures for further processing. The exception is the sense of smell, which travels directly to the temporal lobe.
Kinaesthetic information passes from the thalamus to the parietal lobe.
It is located just below the hypothalamus. It controls so many of the other endocrine organs. It edits and censors our incoming stimuli, deciding at a level unconscious to us what will be available to our conscious minds for processing. The amygdala makes automatic appraisals outside of consciousness by comparing new situations with the emotional memories of past events. Our ability to learn and is determined by these mechanisms.