Final answer:
c. vision. Vision is the sense that does not go through the thalamus on the way to the cortex.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer is c. vision.
All sensory signals, except those from the olfactory system, enter the central nervous system and are routed to the thalamus. From the thalamus, the sensory signals are conducted to specific areas of the cortex dedicated to processing that particular sense.
For example, taste signals are routed from taste cells in the tongue, esophagus, and palate to the medulla in the brainstem. From the medulla, taste signals travel to the thalamus and then to the primary gustatory cortex. Similarly, touch and audition signals are routed through the thalamus to regions of the cerebral cortex specific to each sensory system. However, visual signals bypass the thalamus and are sent directly from the retina to the visual cortex for processing without passing through the thalamus.