Brodmann’s area 17

Brodmann area 17, also known as the striate area, is the primary visual center in the brain's occipital lobe. It receives direct input from the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus, where optic tract fibers synapse. This area is characterized by white fiber bands and is where visual impulses first reach the cerebral cortex, likely leading to conscious visual perception. Damage to area 17 causes blindness, but lesions in surrounding areas (Brodmann areas 18 and 19, the parastriate and peristriate areas) can lead to disturbances in spatial orientation and stereoscopic vision. These secondary visual areas process information relayed from area 17, connecting visual input to other cortical regions.12