Editing Visual processing (section)

{{Short description|The brain's ability to interpret visual information}}
{{distinguish|image processing}}

'''Visual processing''' is the [[brain]]'s ability to use and interpret [[Visual perception|visual information]] from the world. The process of converting [[light]] into a meaningful image is a complex process that is facilitated by numerous brain structures and higher level cognitive processes.

On an anatomical level, light first enters the [[eye]] through the [[cornea]], where the light is bent. After passing through the cornea, light passes through the [[pupil]] and then the [[Lens (anatomy)|lens]] of the eye, where it is bent to a greater degree and focused upon the retina. The [[retina]] is where a group of light-sensing cells called [[Photoreceptor cell|photoreceptors]] are located. There are two types of photoreceptors: [[Rod cell|rods]] and [[Cone cell|cones]]. Rods are sensitive to dim light, and cones are better able to transduce bright light. Photoreceptors connect to [[Bipolar neuron|bipolar cells]], which induce [[action potentials]] in [[retinal ganglion cells]]. These retinal ganglion cells form a bundle at the [[optic disc]], which is a part of the [[optic nerve]].

The two optic nerves from each eye meet at the [[optic chiasm]], where nerve fibers from each nasal retina cross. This results in the right half of each eye's visual field being represented in the [[left hemisphere]] and the left half of each eye's visual fields being represented in the [[right hemisphere]]. The optic tract then diverges into two visual pathways, the [[geniculostriate pathway]] and the [[tectopulvinar pathway]], which send visual information to the [[visual cortex]] of the [[occipital lobe]] for higher level processing (Whishaw and Kolb, 2015).