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They carry visual information through two divisions (called upper and lower division) to the visual cortex (also called striate cortex) along the calcarine fissure. There is one set of upper and lower divisions on each side of the brain. If a lesion only exists in one unilateral division of the optic radiation, the consequence is called quadrantanopia, which implies that only the respective superior or inferior quadrant of the visual field is affected. If both divisions on one side of the brain are affected, the result is a contralateral homonymous hemianopsia.
Lesions that involve both cunei cause a lower altitudinal hemianopia (altitudinopia)
The lower division:
Loops from the lateral geniculate body anteriorly (Meyer's loop), then posteriorly, to terminate in the lower bank of the calcarine sulcus, called the lingual gyrus
Contains input from the inferior retinal quadrants, which represents the superior visual field quadrants
Carry information from the Superior part of the visual field
A lesion in the temporal lobe that results in damage to Meyer's loop causes a characteristic loss of vision in a superior quadrant (quadrantanopia or "pie in the sky" defect.)
Carry information from the Inferior part of the visual field
Taking the shorter path, these fibers are less susceptible to damage. Damage caused is characteristically called "Pie in the floor" defect or inferior quadrantanopia.
*Note: In 2009, an anonymous medical doctor edited the "Optic Radiation" Misplaced Pages article and added the eponymous name "Baum's loop," referring to the dorsal bundle. Despite the information being unverified, this name subsequently entered scholarly articles and textbooks and persisted until three radiologists discovered the fabrication in 2020.
Right superior quadrantanopia. The areas of the visual field lost in each eye are shown as black areas. This visual field defect is characteristic of damage to Meyer's loop on the left side of the brain.
Function
The optic radiation contains feedforward tracts that transmit visual information (from the retina of the eye) from the geniculate nucleus to the visual cortex, and also feedback tracts from the visual cortex to the neurons in the LGN that project to them. The function of the feedback from the visual cortex back to the LGN is unknown. The optic radiation is activated during working memory tasks. The optic radiations are usually unilateral and commonly vascular in origin. Field defects, therefore, develop abruptly, in contrast to the slow progression of defects associated with tumors.
Colour-coded diagram showing radiations in quadrants from retinal disc through the brain
Tractography showing optic radiation
