Optic radiation
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| Brain: Optic radiation | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Deep dissection of cortex and brain-stem. (Optic radiation labeled at center left.) | ||
| Latin | radiatio optica | |
| NeuroNames | ancil-529 | |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | r_01/12686139 | |
The optic radiation (also known as the geniculo-calcarine tract or as the geniculostriate pathway) is a collection of axons from relay neurons in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus carrying visual information to the visual cortex (also called striate cortex) along the calcarine fissure.
There is one such tract on each side of the brain.
Parts
A distinctive feature of the optic radiations is that they split into two parts on each side:
| Source | Path | Information | Damage |
| Fibers from the inferior retina (also called "Meyer's loop" or "Archambault's loop") | must pass into the temporal lobe by looping around the inferior horn of the lateral ventricle. | Carry information from the superior part of the visual field | A lesion in the temporal lobe that results in damage to Meyer's loop causes a characteristic loss of vision in a superior quadrant (quadrantanopia.) |
| Fibers from the superior retina | travel straight back to the occipital lobe in the retrolenticular limb of the internal capsule to the visual cortex. | Carry information from the inferior part of the visual field | Taking the shorter path, these fibers are less susceptible to damage. |
Additional images
 Horizontal section of right cerebral hemisphere. |
 Diagram of the tracts in the internal capsule. |
 3D schematic representation of optic tracts |
External links
- Optic+radiation at eMedicine Dictionary
Sensory system - Visual system |
|---|
| Eye • Optic nerve • Optic chiasm • Optic tract • Lateral geniculate nucleus • Optic radiation • Visual cortex • Blobs |
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
