The central medial nucleus is part of the rostral intralaminar or posterior nucleus of the thalamus. Central median neurons respond to auditory, visual, and somatosensory stimuli regardless of whether an award is associated. Generally, neural response is highest with unexpected sensory stimuli and become habituated to repeated ones. Projections of the central medial nucleus could be divided into rostral and caudal. The rostral portion focuses on targeting the limbic regions whereas the caudal projections are more concentrated at sensorimotor structures. All of these connections help integrate affective, cognitive and sensorimotor functions for goal-directed behavior.