Occipital Lobe: Definition, Functions, and Location

The occipital lobe is located at the very back of the brain, and contains the primary visual cortex, which is responsible for interpreting ... Togglenavigation TheoriesResearchMethodsMentalHealthA-levelStatistics BrainCerebralCortexOccipitalLobeOccipitalLobe:Definition,Functions,andLocationByOliviaGuy-Evans,publishedApril19,2021Factchecked bySaulMcleod,PhDWhatisit?Theoccipitallobeislocatedattheverybackofthebrain,andcontainstheprimaryvisualcortex,whichis responsibleforinterpretingincomingvisualinformation.Itisthesmallestlobeofthebrain,accountingforaround12%ofthetotalsurfaceareaofthebrain’scortex.Itislocatedattherearofthebrain,behindthetemporalandparietallobesandbelowtheoccipitalboneoftheskull.Therearetwosidestotheoccipitallobes,inboththeleftandrighthemispheresofthebrain,separatedbycerebralfissure(adeepgrooveseparatingthetwocerebralhemispheres).Theoccipitallobeessentiallyreceivessensoryinformationfromtheretinasoftheeyes,ofwhich,isthenencodedintodifferentvisualdata,suchascolor,orientation,andmotion. FunctionsBelowisalistofsomeoftheassociatedfunctionsoftheoccipitallobes:Assessingsize,depth,anddistance DeterminingcolorinformationObjectrecognitionFacerecognitionMappingthevisualworldMovementResearchersoncebelievedthattheoccipitallobe’sonlyfunctionwasincontrollingvisualfunctions.However,wenowunderstandtheoccipitallobetobeinvolvedinotherfunctions,duetobeingabletoreceiveinputfromotherbrainregions.Theoccipitallobestransmitvisualinformationtothetemporallobes,whichaidsingivingmeaningtovisualinformation,storingmemories,andrespondingtoexternalstimuliintheworld.Aninterestingphenomenonrelatingtotheoccipitallobesiscalledsynaesthesia.Thisisaperceptualexperiencesomepeoplehavewherebyspecificeventsinonesensorymodalityinducesexperiencesinanother.Forinstance,atypeofsynaesthesia,calledcolor-graphemicsynaesthesiarelatestopeopleperceivingcoloredexperienceswithnumbersorwrittenletters.Therefore,theymayattributetheletter‘A’withthecolorred,orthenumber‘4’withthecoloryellow.SubstructuresoftheOccipitalLobeTheoccipitallobescanbedividedintoseveralfunctionalareas,althoughtherearenoanatomicalmarkersdistinguishingtheseareas.Brainimaginghasrevealedthatneuronsintheoccipitalcortexcreateanongoingvisualmapofinformationtakeninbytheretinas.Similarly,itisworthnotingthatthemotorcortexplaysaroleinthemusclesoftheeyes,whichareheavilyreliedonbytheoccipitallobes.PrimaryVisualCortexThissectionisalsoknownasBrodmannarea17,orvisualareaV1.Theprimaryvisualcortexreceivessensoryinformationfromtheretinasoftheeyes,thentransmitsinformationrelatingtolocation,spatialdata,motion,andthecolorsofobjectsinthefieldofvision.Thisinformationgetstransportedviatwostreams:thedorsalandventralstreams.Thevisualcortexisdividedintosixareasdependingonthefunctionandstructureofeacharea,referredtoasV1,V2,V3,V4,andV5.SecondaryVisualCortexThissectionisalsoknownasBrodmannarea18and19,orvisualareaV2.Thisistheareaimmediatelysurroundingtheprimaryvisualcortex.Itreceivesinformationfromtheprimaryvisualcortexforfurtherorganisationofvisualinput.ItalsopassesinformationtovisualareasV3,V4,andV5.VentralStreamThesecondaryvisualcortexalsoencompassestheventralstream,whichallowsinformationtoflowtotemporallobestructurestoenableustoprocesswhatobjectsare.Withouttheventralstream,wewouldstillbeabletoseenormally,butwithouttheconsciousawarenessorunderstandingofwhatweareseeing.LateralGeniculateBodiesThelateralgeniculatebodyispartofthethalamusandactsasasensoryrelaysystem.Rawinformationcomingfromtheouterpartoftheretinasentersthisareaforprocessingbeforebeingsenttotheprimaryvisualcortex.LingulaThelingulaisalsoresponsibleforprocessingvision,throughgatheringinformationaboutwhatisinthefieldofvisionfromthesidehalfoftheretina.Togetherwiththehelpofthelateralgeniculatebodies,thelingulacreatesspatialawarenessandgivesdepthtothevisualinformation.DorsalStreamThedorsalstreamallowsinformationtoflowfromtheoccipitallobestotheparietallobes,inorderforustoprocesswhereobjectsarelocated.ThedorsalstreamconnectstoboththeV1andV2regions,allowingtheseareastosendinformationaboutthesizeandshapeofobjectsinourfieldofvision.DamagetotheTemporalLobesBelowarealistofsymptomsthatmayoccurifanindividualhasexperienceddamagewithintheiroccipitallobe:BlindnessHallucinationsDifficultylocatingobjectsChangesindepthperceptionDifficultiesidentifyingcolorsDifficultiesinreadingandwritingInabilitytoseecolor,orientation,andmotion SynaesthesiaDifficultyrecognisingdrawnobjectsDuetotheoccipitallobesbeinglocatedatthebackofthebrain,thismakesitlesssusceptibletodamage.Asisthecasewithalotofbrainregions,ifapartoftheoccipitallobebecomesdamaged,otherbrainareascancompensateforthisdamage,meaningoverallfunctionisnotfullyaffected.Completedamagetotheprimaryvisualcortex,however,cancausecorticalblindness.Asthevisualfieldisessentiallymappedontothesurfaceoftheprimaryvisualcortex,asmallbitofdamagecancausea‘hole’inaspecificpartofthefieldofvision.Damagetotheprimaryvisualcortexcouldalsoaffectthewayapersonrecognizesobjectsbysight.Forinstance,whenpresentedwithamobilephoneandaskedtoidentifyit,theymaysaytheycanseeascreenandsomebuttonsbutmaynotbeabletonametheactualobjectasawhole.However,ifgiventhephonetohold,theywouldbeabletorecognizewhatitisthroughtouch.Similarly,withpeople,theymaynotbeabletorecognizewhoisstandinginfrontofthembysight.Oncetheyhearthevoiceoftheperson,wouldtheythenbeabletorecognizethembysound.Thisdeficitisknownasvisualagnosia.AnotherinterestingbutexceedinglyrareconditioniscalledRiddochSyndrome.Thisisaconditionwherebyanindividualisunabletoviewstationaryobjectsintheirfieldofvision.Theycanonly,however,viewpeopleorobjectsiftheyaremoving. Surgeryhasprovensuccessfulinpatientswhohaveoccipitallobeepilepsy.However,itisdifficulttoidentifytheentireareaofissuethroughbrainimagingandhassometimesledtopost-operativevisualdeficitaftersurgery(Harwardetal.,2018). Awaytostrengthentheoccipitallobesistoexercizeitwithvisualactivities.Thiscouldincludevisualisationexercizes,watchinga3DmovieordrivingwithoutGPSnavigation.Completingexercizesliketheseshouldaidinenhancingvisual-spatialskills.ResearchStudiesSperlingetal.,(2006)investigatedtheneuralbasisofcolor-graphemesynaesthesiausingfunctionalmagneticresonanceimaging(fMRI).Thinfindingsfromthisfoundthatthegrapheme-inducedcolorperceptioninsynaesthesiaiscausedbyactivationofthecolorareasofthevisualcortex(V4).Kandel,Schwartz,&Jessell(1991)investigateddamagewithinparietal-temporal-occipitalassociationregions.Theyfoundthatdamagesinthisareacanleadtowordblindnesswithwritingimpairments,alsoknownasalexiaandagraphia.Park,Yoon,&Rhee(2011)completedneuropsychologicaltestsonpatientswhohadsuffereddamagetotheoccipitallobesafterastroke.Thiswasusedtotestwhethertherewereanyexecutivefunctiondeficitsinthesepatients.Theyfoundthatmemoryimpairmentsweretheonlyareainwhichpatientswithisolatedoccipitallobedamagedemonstratedadeclineinperformance.Onlywithadditionaldamagetothetemporalregionswasexecutivedysfunctionwitnessedacrossnumerousdomains.Ishizakietal.,(2008)usedpositronemissiontomography(PET)scansinindividualswithdepression.Theyfoundthatdifferencesincerebralbloodflowintheoccipitallobewascorrelatedwithdepression.Aftertheuseofpharmacotherapy,theyfoundthatcerebralbloodflowincreasedintheparieto-occipitalregions.PeoplewithAutismtypicallyshowenhancedperceptualskillswhenengagedinvisualsearch,visualdiscrimination,andembeddedfiguredetectiontasks.Whencompletedthesetypesofvisualtasks,therehasshowntobemorebrainactivityintheoccipitallobesoftheseindividualswhencomparedtoneurotypicalindividuals(Samson,Mottron,Soulieres,&Zeffiro,2011).Tateetal.,(2007)usedmagneticresonanceimaging(MRI)onindividualswithAutismandfoundsignificantovergrowthintheoccipitalcortex.AnotherstudyalsofoundoccipitallobeenlargementinthosewithAutismcomparedtoacontrolgroup(Piven,Arndt,Bailey,&Andreasen,1996).Binderetal.,(2008)foundthatpatientswhohadepilepsyoftheoccpitiallobeshaddeficitswiththeirvisualfunction.Gülgönenetal.,(2005)investigatedtheneurobiologicalfunctionsofthosewithoccipitallobeepilepsy.Theyfoundthattheseindividualsperformedlowerontestsofattention,memory,andintellectualfunctioning,incomparisontoacontrolgroup.Asdamagetotheoccipitallobecancausevisualhallucinations,thisregionhasbeeninvestigatedasaneurobiologicalcorrelateofthosewithschizophrenia(McCarleyetal.,1999).Onitsukaetal.,(2007)usedMRItoinvestigatethebrainsofthosewithschizophrenia.Theyfoundthatthosewithchronicschizophreniahadreducedgreymatter(outermostarea,containingneurons)volumeinthevisualassociationcortex,suggestingthatthisareaisacauseofsomeofthevisualdeficitsobservedinthosewithschizophrenia.AbouttheAuthorOliviaGuy-EvansobtainedherundergraduatedegreeinEducationalPsychologyatEdgeHillUniversityin2015.Shethenreceivedhermaster’sdegreeinPsychologyofEducationfromtheUniversityofBristolin2019.OliviahasbeenworkingasasupportworkerforadultswithlearningdisabilitiesinBristolforthelastfouryears.Howtoreferencethisarticle:Howtoreferencethisarticle:Guy-Evans,O.(2021,April19).Occipitallobe:definition,functions,andlocation.SimplyPsychology.www.simplypsychology.org/occipital-lobe.htmlAPAStyleReferencesBinder,D.K.,VonLehe,M.,Kral,T.,Bien,C.G.,Urbach,H.,Schramm,J.,&Clusmann,H.(2008).Surgicaltreatmentofoccipitallobeepilepsy.JournalofNeurosurgery,109(1),57-69.Gülgönen,S.,Demirbilek,V.,Korkmaz,B.,Dervent,A.,&Townes,B.D.(2000).Neuropsychologicalfunctionsinidiopathicoccipitallobeepilepsy.Epilepsia,41(4),405-411.Harward,S.C.,Chen,W.C.,Rolston,J.D.,Haglund,M.M.,&Englot,D.J.(2018).Seizureoutcomesinoccipitallobeandposteriorquadrantepilepsysurgery:asystematicreviewandmeta-analysis.Neurosurgery,82(3),350-358.Ishizaki,J.,Yamamoto,H.,Takahashi,T.,Takeda,M.,Yano,M.,&Mimura,M.(2008).Changesinregionalcerebralbloodflowfollowingantidepressanttreatmentinlate‐lifedepression.InternationalJournalofGeriatricPsychiatry,23(8),805-811.Jessell,T.M.(1991).Principlesofneuralscience(pp.173-193).J.H.Schwartz,&E.R.Kandel(Eds.).NewYork:Elsevier.McCarley,R.W.,Wible,C.G.,Frumin,M.,Hirayasu,Y.,Levitt,J.J.,Fischer,I.A.,&Shenton,M.E.(1999).MRIanatomyofschizophrenia.BiologicalPsychiatry,45(9),1099-1119.Onitsuka,T.,McCarley,R.W.,Kuroki,N.,Dickey,C.C.,Kubicki,M.,Demeo,S.S.,Frumin,M.,Kikinis,R.,Jolesz,F.A.&Shenton,M.E.(2007).Occipitallobegraymattervolumeinmalepatientswithchronicschizophrenia:AquantitativeMRIstudy.SchizophreniaResearch,92(1-3),197-206.Park,K.C.,Yoon,S.S.,&Rhee,H.Y.(2011).Executivedysfunctionassociatedwithstrokeintheposteriorcerebralarteryterritory.JournalofClinicalNeuroscience,18(2),203-208.Piven,J.,Arndt,S.,Bailey,J.,&Andreasen,N.(1996).Regionalbrainenlargementinautism:amagneticresonanceimagingstudy.JournaloftheAmericanAcademyofChild&AdolescentPsychiatry,35(4),530-536.Samson,F.,Mottron,L.,Soulières,I.,&Zeffiro,T.A.(2012).Enhancedvisualfunctioninginautism:AnALEmeta‐analysis.HumanBrainMapping,33(7),1553-1581.Sperling,J.M.,Prvulovic,D.,Linden,D.E.,Singer,W.,&Stirn,A.(2006).Neuronalc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