All parts of the brain › Vision

What part of the brain controls vision?

Mainly the occipital lobe at the back of the head. Signals from the eyes pass through the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus to the primary visual cortex (V1) in the occipital lobe; from there one stream runs forward into the temporal lobe (what you are seeing) and another up into the parietal lobe (where it is and how to reach it). [1][2][3]

The 3D brain needs JavaScript. The list of parts still says what each one does for vision.

Slice

All 6 parts are lit together. Drag to turn, pinch or scroll to zoom, tap a part on the brain or a name in the list to focus it; .

Vision: 6 parts lit

Occipital lobe, thalamus, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, fusiform gyrus and midbrain. Tap one to see where it is and what it does.

The parts and their roles

The visual processing centre of the brain: it holds the primary visual cortex (V1) around the calcarine sulcus on its inner face, and further visual areas (V2, V3 and others) around it. [4][1] Where is the occipital lobe?
Its lateral geniculate nucleus, a small layered part of the thalamus (not a separate piece on this model), is the main relay from the optic tract to the primary visual cortex. [2] Where is the thalamus?
The ventral “what” stream runs from the occipital lobe into the inferior temporal cortex and is linked with recognising objects and forms. [3] Where is the temporal lobe?
The dorsal “where” (or “how”) stream runs from the occipital lobe up into the parietal lobe and is linked with where things are and guiding actions toward them, such as reaching and grasping. [3] Where is the parietal lobe?
On the underside of the temporal and occipital lobes, part of the ventral stream; it holds the fusiform face area, which responds strongly to faces, and takes part in recognising objects, bodies and written words. [5][6] Where is the fusiform gyrus?
The superior colliculus on its roof receives a share of the optic nerve fibres and helps turn the eyes and the head toward things that appear in view. [7] Where is the midbrain?

How they work together

At the optic chiasm the fibres from the nasal half of each retina cross over, so the left occipital lobe receives the right half of what both eyes see, and the right lobe the left half. [8]
The primary visual cortex holds a map of the visual field, and the centre of gaze (the fovea) gets a much larger share of it than the edges of view. [1]
Most optic nerve fibres end in the lateral geniculate nucleus; a smaller share goes to the superior colliculus in the midbrain, a route used for orienting the eyes rather than for seeing detail. [9][7]
Honest limit: the “what” and “where” streams are a simplifying model and exchange information heavily, and areas such as V2 to V5 are small patches of cortex with no separate piece on this model, so the occipital, temporal and parietal lobes are lit whole. [3][1]

Sources

Facts describe anatomy and normal function only. A part lit here takes part in vision; it does not do it alone, and it does other jobs too. The 3D model is the adult male BodyParts3D brain (credits and licence); on it the brainstem includes the midbrain, pons and medulla, so lighting the brainstem lights all three.