Brodmann area 18

Brodmann area 18 or BA18 is a region of the human brain that is part of the visual cortex in the Occipital lobe. It is also known as the V2 area or secondary visual cortex, and is one of several "extrastriate" visual areas.

Brodmann area 18 shown in green

Anatomy

BA18 is located in the Occipital lobe, the rearmost lobe in the human brain. It is situated just anterior to the primary visual cortex (BA17), and posterior to BA19.

Function

The primary role of BA18 is in the processing of visual information. It receives strong feedforward connections from BA17 and sends strong connections to BA19. It is involved in the recognition of shapes and objects, and is also thought to play a role in the perception of color and motion.

Clinical significance

Damage to BA18 can result in a variety of visual disorders, including achromatopsia (inability to perceive color), akinetopsia (inability to perceive motion), and visual agnosia (inability to recognize objects).

See also

• Brodmann area
• Visual cortex
• Occipital lobe