Visual cortex
| Visual cortex | |
|---|---|
 View of the brain from behind. Red = Brodmann area 17 (primary visual cortex); orange = area 18; yellow = area 19 | |
 Brain shown from the side, eyes facing left. Above: view from outside, below: cut through the middle. Orange = Brodmann area 17 (primary visual cortex) | |
| Details | |
| Identifiers | |
| Latin | cortex visualis |
| MeSH | D014793 |
| NeuroLex ID | nlx_143552 |
| FMA | 242644 |
| Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy | |
In mammals, the visual cortex of the brain is the area of the cerebral cortex that processes visual information. The visual cortex is located in the occipital lobe, located at the rear of the head. Sensory input originating from the eyes travels through the lateral geniculate nucleus in the thalamus and then reaches the visual cortex. The area of the visual cortex that receives the sensory input from the lateral geniculate nucleus is the primary visual cortex, also known as visual area 1 (V1), Brodmann area 17, or the striate cortex. The extrastriate areas consist of visual areas 2, 3, 4, and 5 (also known as V2, V3, V4, and V5, or Brodmann area 18 and all Brodmann area 19).
Both hemispheres of the brain include a visual cortex; the visual cortex in the left hemisphere receives signals from the right visual field, and the visual cortex in the right hemisphere receives signals from the left visual field.