Here ends:
(a) the medial lemnic conveying hind string qualities from the hind nuclei of the opposite side; and
(b) parts of the tractus spino-thalamicus which mediate pain and temperature stimuli from the opposite half of the body, excluding the face with its cavities (eye, nose and mouth).
The VPL nucleus transmits its filaments via the capsula interna and corona radiata to those parts of the primary somatosensory cortex (SS 1) that represent the opposite half of the body, except for the face with its cavities (eye, nose and oral cavity). The somatosensory cortex, in turn, emits an extensive wire mass back to the VPL.
The signals from the VPL nucleus end mainly in the lamina IV of the cerebral cortex. The signals back to the VPL nucleus emanate from the lamina VI of the cerebral cortex.
The pain and temperature information that reached the VPL core, when retransmitted to SS 1 after switching in the core, does not give rise to a pain or temperature sensation but "tells" where the stimulus takes place.