The occipital lobe is the smallest lobe, forming the back of each hemisphere behind the parieto-occipital sulcus and resting on the tentorium cerebelli. Its medial surface is split by the calcarine sulcus, which is lined by the primary visual cortex. It is devoted almost entirely to vision.
| Location | Posterior pole of each hemisphere, behind the parieto-occipital sulcus, above the tentorium cerebelli |
|---|---|
| Parts | |
| Connections |
|
| Blood Supply | Posterior cerebral artery (calcarine artery); Middle cerebral artery (lateral occipital pole) |
Receives and processes visual information: shape, colour, motion and depth, sending it on for object recognition and spatial vision.
Damage to one occipital lobe causes a homonymous hemianopia (loss of the same half of the visual field in both eyes), often with macular sparing when the posterior cerebral artery is blocked. Damage to both sides causes cortical blindness, sometimes with denial of blindness (Anton syndrome). Occipital seizures produce simple visual phenomena such as flashing lights.
Infarction of the occipital lobe causing a homonymous hemianopia of the opposite visual field.
Loss of vision from damage to both occipital lobes with normal eyes and pupil reactions.
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