BRAIN FUNCTIONS AND THE SENSES
How We See 70 7171Conscious vision
The ventral route adds more information to
the object, such as color and shape. The
information goes to the temporal lobe,
where it is matched to visual memories to
aid recognition. This is where the visual
stimulus becomes a conscious perception.Unconscious vision
The dorsal route carries visual
information to the parietal lobes,
passing through areas that calculate an
object’s location, timing, and motion
and make a plan in relation to it. All of
this happens without conscious thought.“WHAT” PATHWAY (VENTRAL ROUTE)
“WHERE” PATHWAY (DORSAL ROUTE)
Cell area V4
Visual area 4 (V4) is involved in
the perception of color, texture,
orientation, form, and movement.
This region contains the majority of
color-sensing neurons and is
important in interpreting the space
between objects.Inferior
temporal lobe
Signals are forwarded to the
fusiform gyrus of the inferior
temporal lobe, which is involved in
recognizing complex shapes, objects,
and faces. In conjunction with the
hippocampus, it helps with the
formation of new memories.Cell area V5
The middle temporal area (V5)
judges the overall direction of
motion of an object rather than that
of its component parts. For example,
it processes the general direction of
a flock of birds rather than the
movement of a single bird. It
also analyzes the motion
of our own body.Parietal lobe
The parietal lobe
gauges the depth and position
of an object in relation to the
observer. This allows the person
to take immediate action, such as
ducking from an object coming
toward them rapidly.WHAT IS
PROSOPAGNOSIA?This is the inability to
recognize faces, even of close
family, usually due to damage
to the inferior temporal lobe.
Those affected have to learn
to recognize people in
other ways.
US_070-071_How_We_See.indd 71 20/09/2019 12:33