Cortical area · one in each half of the brain
Lateral occipital cortex
Also called Lateral occipital complex (LOC), Extrastriate cortex
Where lines become objects, and where the brain sees motion.
The outer side surface of the occipital lobe, at the back of the head. It contains the lateral occipital complex, which responds to the shapes of objects, a cup, a chair, a car, much more than to scrambled patterns. Near its front edge, at the border with the temporal lobe, is the brain's motion area, called V5 or MT, which lets you see things move. It also has a spot that responds to human bodies.
Where it is
On the outer side of the back of the brain, behind where the temporal and parietal lobes end, under the back and side of your skull.
What it does
Recognizing shapes
It groups edges into whole object shapes, the step between seeing lines and knowing what a thing is.
Seeing motion
The motion area near its front edge works out the speed and direction of anything moving.
Seeing bodies
A patch here responds strongly to human bodies and body parts.
Depth and 3D shape
It helps work out the 3D form of objects from shading, outlines and the view from each eye.
Think of it as a sculptor that turns a jumble of lines into solid shapes, with a sports camera next door that tracks anything that moves.
Works with
- Primary visual cortexIt builds on the simple edges and lines that V1 detects.
- Fusiform gyrusIt passes object shapes on to the fusiform gyrus for faces and words.
- Inferior temporal gyrusIt sends shapes forward along the "what" pathway to be recognized and named.
- Superior parietal lobuleMotion and shape information goes up to the parietal lobe to guide reaching and eye movements.
- Superior temporal sulcusThe motion area sits next to the part of this social region that reads how people move.
- PulvinarThis part of the thalamus has its own links to the motion area, a back route for visual signals.
When it goes wrong
Visual form agnosia
A woman known as D.F. had this area damaged on both sides by carbon monoxide poisoning. She could not say which way a slot was tilted, yet she could post a card through it accurately, showing that seeing and acting use different routes.
Motion blindness
In rare cases of damage on both sides near the motion area, people see moving things as a series of jumps or still snapshots.
For learning only, not medical advice. If you have a health concern, talk to a doctor.
Surprising facts
- Stare at a waterfall for a minute, then look at the rocks beside it: they seem to drift upward. This "waterfall illusion" is linked to tired-out cells in the brain's motion areas.
- The motion area was first named "MT" (middle temporal) in monkeys, where it sits in the temporal lobe. In humans it ends up near the border of the occipital lobe.
Where the name comes from
"Lateral" comes from the Latin "latus" (side). "Extrastriate" means "beyond the striped cortex", the primary visual cortex.
Quick quiz
3 questions. Your answers are saved and come back in your daily review.
Which of these is a job of the lateral occipital cortex?
Show the answer
Recognizing shapes. It groups edges into whole object shapes, the step between seeing lines and knowing what a thing is.
Recognizing shapes. It groups edges into whole object shapes, the step between seeing lines and knowing what a thing is.
The lateral occipital cortex is part of which larger structure?
Show the answer
Occipital lobe. It belongs to the occipital lobe.
Occipital lobe. It belongs to the occipital lobe.
Which part fits this description? "Like a sculptor that turns a jumble of lines into solid shapes, with a sports camera next door that tracks anything that moves."
Show the answer
Lateral occipital cortex. It is the lateral occipital cortex. Where lines become objects, and where the brain sees motion.
Lateral occipital cortex. It is the lateral occipital cortex. Where lines become objects, and where the brain sees motion.
These parts now come back in your daily review, just before you would forget them.
Practice it and its neighbors in 3DSources
- Extrastriate Cortex, OpenStax, Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience
- Unsolved Questions In Visual Perception, OpenStax, Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience
- Agnosia, StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf
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