Where does the optic radiation terminate in the cortex?

Where does the optic radiation terminate in the cortex?

• A. Cortical layer 2 of V1
• B. Cortical layer 6 of V1
• C. Cortical layer 4 of V1
• D. Cortical layer 3 of V1

Answer: (C)

Visual information from the LGN travels via the optic radiation to the primary visual cortex, where it first terminates in the granular, input layer known as layer 4. This layer, especially the sublayers 4Cα and 4Cβ, is specialized to receive thalamocortical inputs from magnocellular and parvocellular LGN cells, forming the initial retinotopic map in V1. From layer 4, the signal then spreads to other cortical layers (like 2/3 and 5/6) for further processing and onward connections, but the termination point of the optic radiation is layer 4 of V1.

Visual information from the LGN travels via the optic radiation to the primary visual cortex, where it first terminates in the granular, input layer known as layer 4. This layer, especially the sublayers 4Cα and 4Cβ, is specialized to receive thalamocortical inputs from magnocellular and parvocellular LGN cells, forming the initial retinotopic map in V1. From layer 4, the signal then spreads to other cortical layers (like 2/3 and 5/6) for further processing and onward connections, but the termination point of the optic radiation is layer 4 of V1.