Editing Visual cortex (section)

{{short description|Region of the brain that processes visual information}}
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{{Infobox brain
| Name            = Visual cortex
| Latin           = cortex visualis
| Image           = Brodmann areas 17 18 19.png
| Caption         = View of the brain from behind. Red = Brodmann area 17 (primary visual cortex); orange = area 18; yellow = area 19
| Image2          = Brodmann Cytoarchitectonics 17.png
| Caption2        = Brain shown from the side, facing left. Above: view from outside, below: cut through the middle. Orange = Brodmann area 17 (primary visual cortex)
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| Components      =
| Artery          =
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The '''visual cortex''' of the [[brain]] is the area of the [[cerebral cortex]] that processes [[visual perception|visual information]]. It is located in the [[occipital lobe]]. Sensory input originating from the [[eye]]s 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 ([[Brodmann area#BA17,V1|V1]]), [[Brodmann area]] 17<!---don't wikilink it as long as it redirects to here--->, or the '''striate cortex'''. The [[extrastriate cortex|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]]).<ref>{{cite web | vauthors = Mather G |title=The Visual Cortex |url=http://www.lifesci.sussex.ac.uk/home/George_Mather/Linked%20Pages/Physiol/Cortex.html |publisher=School of Life Sciences: University of Sussex |access-date=6 March 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

Both [[cerebral hemisphere|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.