What is optic tract?
The optic tract is a bundle of nerve fibers that serves to carry visual information from the optic chiasm to the left and right lateral geniculate bodies as a part of the visual pathway.
What is the optic tract of the eye?
The optic tract (from the Latin tractus opticus) is a part of the visual system in the brain. It is a continuation of the optic nerve that relays information from the optic chiasm to the ipsilateral lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), pretectal nuclei, and superior colliculus.
What happens when you cut the optic tract?
Damage at site #1: this would be like losing sight in the left eye. The entire left optic nerve would be cut and there would be a total loss of vision from the left eye. Damage at site #2: partial damage to the left optic nerve.
What is a hemianopia?
A hemianopia is where there is a loss of one half of your visual field. Hemianopia is caused by damage to the brain, for example, by a stroke, trauma or tumour. The extent of field loss can vary and depends of the area of your brain that has been affected.
What is the function of optic tract?
The optic tract primarily conveys visual information from the optic chiasm to the lateral geniculate nuclei.
Where is optic tract located?
The optic tract arises from the optic chiasm, which lies in the subarachnoid space above the pituitary gland. The optic nerve just behind the eyeball, contains the temporal and nasal fibres which are situated on their respective sides.
What is the difference between optic tract and optic nerve?
The key difference between Optic Nerve and Optic tract is that the Optic nerve is the nerve that connects your eye to the brain while the Optic tract is a part of the visual system of our brain.
What happens if right optic tract is damaged?
For example, interruption of the optic tract on the right results in a loss of sight in the left visual field (that is, blindness in the temporal visual field of the left eye and the nasal visual field of the right eye).
How is Hemianopsia caused?
The most common cause of homonymous hemianopia is stroke. However, any type of damage to your optic nerves or brain can lead to hemianopia. Common causes of these types of damage include: traumatic brain injuries.
Who is at risk for hemianopia?
The risk of this problem is higher in people who have a condition that affects the brain. A problem with the optic nerve may also raise the risk, but this is not as common.
Where does the optic tract start?
The axons of the retinal ganglion cells converge to form the optic nerve, which after a partial decussation at the optic chiasm forms the optic tract.
