Final answer:
The thalamus acts as a sensory relay station, processes sensory information, and determines which stimuli receive attention, but does not give precise location information for pain and touch—this is the role of the somatosensory cortex.
Step-by-step explanation:
The thalamus performs many essential roles in sensory and motor signal relay, as well as in regulating consciousness, sleep, and alertness.
Specifically, the thalamus serves as a major sensory relay station, a gateway to the cortex for sensory and motor information, and it communicates intensively with the hypothalamus.
However, the thalamus does not provide a precise location for sensations of pain and touch; that function is attributed to the somatosensory cortex that maintains sensory topography.
The thalamus is involved in processing information by influencing which visual stimuli are important based on feedback from the cortex.
It relays all sensory information, except for smell, to the cerebral cortex.
Despite being a relay station, the thalamus processes the information, determining which sensory information receives attention, before forwarding it to the cortex for further processing.