SHH signaling from the MDO induces a posterior-to-anterior wave of expression the proneural gene Neurogenin1 in the major (caudal) part of the thalamus, and Ascl1 (formerly Mash1) in the remaining narrow stripe of rostral thalamic cells immediately adjacent to the MDO, and in the prethalamus.
Scientist Dr. Raven (Doolittle) has developed a technique called a "thalamic transplant", which transfers the memories and personality of a recently deceased human into a robotic replica of that person.
Lesions in the putamen and thalamus caused by HIBI are primary causes of ADCP and can occur during the prenatal period and shortly after.
The main assertions of the Cannon–Bard theory are that emotional expression results from the function of hypothalamic structures, and emotional feeling results from stimulations of the dorsal thalamus.
Therefore, much research has been conducted on low-threshold spikes in the neurons in the thalamus and how it could relate to Parkinson's disease and the corresponding loss of motor function.
Another study has found that healthy subjects with a high neuroticism score tend to have higher DASB binding in the thalamus; DASB is a ligand that binds to the serotonin transporter protein.