Receives taste signals from the gustatory upper part of the nucleus solitarius and transmits them to e.g. the insula cortex, amygdala and hypothalamus (appetite control)
Nakashima M. et al . (2000) An anterograde and retrograde tract-tracing study on the projections from the thalamic gustatory area in the rat: distribution of neurons projecting to the insular cortex and amygdaloid complex. Neurosci Res. 36(4):297-309.