Final answer:
Option (a) 'Olfactory; Thalamus' is correct. All sensory signals except olfactory signals first travel to the thalamus before reaching the cerebral cortex. Olfactory signals take a different route and do not go through the thalamus initially.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correct answer to the question 'All sensory signals except ······ travel to the ······ in the brain before the cerebral cortex' is option (a) 'Olfactory; Thalamus'. This is because, in humans, with the exception of the olfactory sensory signals, all sensory information is routed from the thalamus to the final processing regions in the cerebral cortex. While all other sensory signals go through the thalamus before reaching their respective cortical areas, olfactory signals take a different route. Olfactory sensory information travels directly to the olfactory bulb and then to various brain regions including the frontal cortex, hypothalamus, thalamus, and amygdala before it reaches the areas .
They are associated with memory, emotion, and cognition - which do not include the hippocampus as a first stop.All sensory signals, except those from the olfactory system, enter the central nervous system and are routed to the thalamus. When the sensory signal exits the thalamus, it is conducted to the specific area of the cortex dedicated to processing that particular sense.