I hope no one will disagree with the fact that the human brain is complex. Every second, millions of processes are taking place. Some we are aware of and some we give no thought to.  If we did not have organization or partitioning of responsibilities, I’m afraid our heads would blow up! All jokes aside, the brain needs to be organized in a way that allows it to operate at maximum efficiency. The reason why I think the cortex has so many areas devoted to processing different types of visual information is for efficiency and because of evolution.

Our cortex is structured so that different inputs from the visual world get sent to different parts of it. Visual illusions are processed separately from simple visual information. This partitioning of responsibilities allows the brain to classify information from the visual world. I believe this allows it to be more efficient and faster in processing. A graduate student from MIT, Bhavin Sheth, calls the visual system an orchestra, “where clusters of cells in different parts of the brain cooperate to process different components of visual information such as vertical or horizontal orientation, color, size, shape, movement, and distinctions between overlapping objects.”

I also believe that our cortex gives such great areas to visual processing because of evolution. It is very important to our survival to be able to have “hunters’ eyes.” In order to be the fittest, we must be the strongest and that happens by being the hunter. Since our visual system has allowed us to evolve the way we have, it means that the cortex is structured to enable us to be the best adapted in our environment.

Even though we have areas devoted to processing different types of visual information, it does not negate the fact that many of the areas are used in an overlapping manner. In 1996, MIT researchers discovered that areas used in processing simple visual information were also used in processing complex information like optical illusions. Research done on animals showed that an area of the brain previously thought to process only simple information was active when shown an optical illusion. This debunked the previous notion that the areas of the cortex worked in a hierarchy; instead it was believed that they work cooperatively.

As complex as the brain may be, we are slowly finding out more and more about it. Let’s just say it’s a fascinating time to be in neurology as well as Perception…