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Brodmann area 17 (primary visual cortex) is shown in red in this image which also shows area 18 (orange) and 19 (yellow)

Visual cortex is the term applied to both the primary visual cortex (also known as striate cortex or "V1") and upstream visual cortical areas also known as extrastriate cortical areas (V2, V3, V4, V5).

The primary visual cortex, V1, is the koniocortex (sensory type) located in and around the calcarine fissure in the occipital lobe. It is the one that receives information directly from the lateral geniculate nucleus.To this have been added later as many as thirty interconnected (secondary or tertiary) visual areas. At the present time there is fair agreement for only 3 of these areas, V2, V3 and MT (aka V5).

The first cortical visual area, transmits information to two primary pathways, called the ventral stream and the dorsal stream:

• The ventral stream begins with V1, goes through Visual area V2, then through Visual area V4, and to the inferior temporal lobe. The ventral stream, sometimes called the "What Pathway", is associated with form recognition and object representation. It is also associated with storage of long-term memory.

• The dorsal stream begins with V1, goes through Visual area V2, then to Visual area V3, Visual area MT (also known as V5) and to the inferior parietal lobule. The dorsal stream, sometimes called the "Where Pathway" or the "How Pathway", is associated with motion, representation of object locations, and control of the eyes and arms, especially when visual information is used to guide saccades or reaching.