Occipital Lobe · Structure
Primary Visual Cortex (V1)
The first draft of everything you see.
V1 sits at the very back of the brain and receives raw signal from the eyes. It doesn't see objects — it detects edges, orientations, and contrast, the raw ingredients later areas assemble into a world.
What it does
- Edge and orientation detection
- Merging input from both eyes
- Mapping the visual field point by point
In the real world
Bionic sight
Experimental implants stimulate V1 directly, letting blind volunteers perceive patterns of dots that can be trained into letters.