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Glite Dictionary
optic tract

optic tract

6.4
Nerve fibers in the brain that carry signals from the eye to the visual area
  • noun
  • /ˈɑptɪk træk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : tracto óptico
  • Damage to the optic tract can lead to vision loss on the opposite side of the visual field.

Examples

  • Here is a picture of an optic tract, right?

  • We, we put HRP in an eye and we're looking at the optic tract here in the tween brain.

  • The optic tract carries signals from the retina to the brain, allowing us to see.

  • Researchers studied the development of the optic tract in developing embryos.

Synonyms

tract
vsoptic tract
  • Specialized
4 7.9

A bundle of nerve fibers in the brain or spinal cord that carry signals

is the visual route that transmits retina signals to the lateral geniculate nucleus
nerve tract
vsoptic tract
  • Specialized
6.2

A group of nerve fibers in the brain or spinal cord that carry messages

is the specific visual pathway carrying retinal signals to the lateral geniculate nucleus

Surface Forms

optic tract singular
optic tracts plural

Morphology

optic + tract

The compound is transparently built from 'optic' (relating to vision) + 'tract' (a pathway), so its meaning — a visual pathway in the nervous system — is directly inferable from the constituents. Although technical, the composition follows regular English noun-noun/adj-noun naming patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words can understand the MWE.

Etymology

Optic tract uses a simple image: optic means 'eye' and tract means 'path' or 'road'. So the name shows this is the 'road' in the brain that carries visual 'signals' from the eye to where the brain understands what you see.