Vertebrate brain
The thalamus sits above the hypothalamus, and below the cerebral cortex. It is a collection of nuclei with various functions. It acts as a relay station, gathering sense information of all kinds (except olfactory) and passes it on to the cerebral cortex. Also, it has a role in consciousness and sleep. There are action systems for several types of behaviour, including eating, drinking, defecation, and copulation.