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visual cortex

visual cortex

4 5.7
Part of the brain at the back that turns signals from the eyes into what you see
  • noun
  • /ˈvɪʒuəl ˈkɔrtɛks/
  • Specialized
translation icon : corteza visual
  • Information from the visual cortex is then routed to the temporal lobes, which handle object recognition.
  • the primary visual cortex
  • the visual cortex in the brain

They don't do it as newborns because their visual cortex isn't working fast.

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Examples

  • Damage to the visual cortex can lead to difficulties in recognizing faces and objects.

  • If the signals are disrupted on their way to the visual cortex, or the light is not properly converted, blindness results.

    Academic text (2003)
  • And then just a couple months ago, this group found a way to use machine learning to translate the visual cortex activity into images.

  • What we see here is the list of all the pre attentive visual attributes that our visual cortex is able to quickly spot.

  • Predictive coding is a theoretical framework that describes the function of sensory processing in general and the visual cortex in particular.

    Academic text (2017)
  • With Dobelle's procedure, a 16-electrode plate is implanted on a patient's visual cortex.

    Academic text (2003)
  • So there's, you know, a certain part of the visual cortex, for example, that's responsible for your experience of motion that gives motion to objects in the world.

  • Example: If I ask you a question about something visual, like your favorite color... and your eyes go up and to the left... neurophysiology tells us that your eyes go that in that direction... because you're accessing the visual cortex.

  • They don't do it as newborns because their visual cortex isn't working fast.

  • And when we look at that sleep stage inside of the MRI scanner, first the vast swaths of the visual cortex start lighting up in your brain.

Synonyms

striate cortex
vsvisual cortex
  • Specialized
7.8

The part of the brain at the back that receives visual signals from the eyes

is broader including this primary area plus other visual processing regions
striate area
vsvisual cortex
  • Specialized
9.3

Part of the back of the brain that gets signals from the eyes for vision

is more general referring to this area plus other nearby visual regions
Brodmann's area 17
vsvisual cortex
  • Specialized
9.7

The part at the back of the brain that first processes what you see

is the general processing area including this specific region and additional visual fields
area 17 of Brodmann
vsvisual cortex
  • Specialized
9.6

Part of the back of the brain that receives and starts to process signals from the eyes

is broader applying to this primary region and other visual processing zones
first visual area
vsvisual cortex
  • Specialized
8.5

Part of the brain at the back that first gets signals from the eyes

is broader including this first area plus subsequent visual processing fields
visual area
vsvisual cortex
  • Specialized
6.1

A part of the brain that receives and processes images from the eyes

is the larger cortical zone that includes this region and other nearby processing zones
occipital cortex
vsvisual cortex
  • Specialized
6.7

Part of the brain at the back of the head that processes what you see

focuses on processing visual input arriving via the thalamus

How Visual

visual cortex
  • Specialized
4 5.7
lateral geniculate
  • Specialized
9.1
optic nerve
  • Specialized
9 3.7
pulvinar
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

visual + cortex

The meaning 'the part of the cortex that processes visual information' is directly and compositionally derived from 'visual' (related to sight) modifying 'cortex' (the brain's grey-matter layer). This modifier + noun combination is a transparent, cross-linguistically common naming pattern (e.g. Spanish 'corteza visual', French 'cortex visuel'), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Visual cortex is a name that gives a clear picture: visual means 'seeing' and cortex means the brain's 'outer layer'. It sits at the back of the head and turns signals from the eyes into images, so the term refers to the part of the brain that helps us understand what we see.