Evaluation of neuroimaging findings in thalamic lesions: what can we think?

The diseases that affect the thalamus are heterogeneous in their etiologies, including infectious, inflammatory, vascular, toxic metabolic, and neoplastic causes. It is often difficult to make the clinical differentiation between different entities. Within this context, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging have come to be of fundamental importance for defining the etiology and planning the treatment. In this pictorial essay, we will illustrate the main causes of diseases affecting the thalamus, discussing the possible differential diagnoses, as well as the most relevant imaging aspects. (author)