Last edited: 8/16/2021

7. OCCIPITAL LOBE
Neurology | Cerebrum: Occipital Lobe Anatomy & Function Medical Editor: Camilla E. Fiorucci

 Perceives objects on the

OUTLINE ipsilateral side.
I) STRUCTURE
II) FUNCTION
III) SUMMARY
III) REFERENCES
o Once the information has reached the Primary Visual
cortex, we are aware that we are looking at object,
but we still can’t recognize it.
STRUCTURE
o Example:
(A) BOUNDARIES  Visual stimuli is basketball

Parieto-occipital sulcus: separates occipital lobe from

parietal lobe
Pre-occipital notch: by tracing an imaginary line
between the Pre-occipital notch and the lateral sulcus it’s
possible to separate the occipital lobe from the temporal
lobe

II) FUNCTION
Two different cortices are found in the occipital lobe: (B) VISUAL ASSOCIATION CORTEX

Primary Visual cortex

o Most posterior one
Visual Association cortex

(A) PRIMARY VISUAL CORTEX

Involved in analyzing, recognizing, memorizing and

understanding a visual stimulus.
The Visual Association Cortex receives the image from
the Primary Visual cortex and elaborates its
characteristics:
Involved in conscious awareness of visual stimuli o Shape
Visual pathway: o Color
o Size
o Movement
Then, compares it to past memories → allows us to
recognize the object
o We can recognize that the object is a basketball
(1) Clinical significance
A lesion in the Visual Association cortex causes Visual
Agnosia
The patient is able to see the object, since the visual
pathway up to the Primary visual cortex is intact, but can’t
recognize it.
o Example: the patient will see the basketball, and will
be able to say that there’s something in front of them,
Figure 1: Visual pathway but won’t be able to tell that it’s a basketball.
o Visual stimulus
III) SUMMARY
• The retina is subdivided in 2 portions:
The occipital lobe is located in the most posterior portion
o Temporal retina: lateral, does not of the cerebral cortex, between the Parieto-occipital
decussate at the optic chiasm.
sulcus and pre-occipital notch
 Perceives objects on the
It contains:
contralateral side. o Primary Visual cortex (V1):
o Nasal retina: medial, decussate at the  Responsible for conscious awareness of visual
optic chiasm.
stimuli

OCCIPITAL LOBE ANATOMY & FUNCTION NEURO PHYSIOLOGY: Note #7 1 of 2

  End point of the visual pathway
o Visual Association cortex:
 Responsible for understanding and recognizing a
visual stimulus
 Compares the stimulus to past memories
 If damaged → Visual Agnosia

IV) REFERENCES
1. Le T, Bhushan V, Sochat M, Chavda Y, Zureick A. First Aid
for the USMLE Step 1 2018. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Medical;
2017
2. Marieb EN, Hoehn K. Anatomy & Physiology. Hoboken, NJ:
Pearson; 2020.
3. Boron WF, Boulpaep EL. Medical Physiology.; 2017.
4. Urry LA, Cain ML, Wasserman SA, Minorsky PV, Orr RB,
Campbell NA. Campbell Biology. New York, NY: Pearson; 2020.
5. Jameson JL, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Longo DL,
Loscalzo J. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. New York
etc.: McGraw-Hill Education; 2018.
6. Felten DL, O'Banion MK, Maida ME. Netter's Atlas of
Neuroscience. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier Health
Sciences; 2015
7. Hall, John E. Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical
Physiology. 13th ed., W B Saunders, 2015.
8. Attribution to Figure 1: Miquel Perello Nieto, CC BY-SA 4.0
<https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia
Commons

2 of 2 NEURO PHYSIOLOGY: Note #7. occipital lobe