Occipital Lobe

Q.  Do teachers really have eyes in the back of their heads?

A.  Eyes are not in the back of the head, but visual processing does occur in the occipital lobes, which are located in the back of the brain.  Although two students can see the same visual information, experiences of each student will influence how that information is perceived.

Q.    After visual stimuli enter the eye and are relayed through the thalamus, where do they go?

A.    Visual stimuli end up in the occipital lobes of the brain.  These lobes are located at the back of the skull.  There are specifically designed areas in the occipital lobes for general scanning, stereo vision, depth, distance, and object detection.  Visual stimuli do not become meaningful until the sensory perceptions are matched with previously stored cognitive associations.

Brain Matters by Patricia Wolfe