Give Us a Piece of Your Mind, Learn about the Occipital Lobe!- Krysta H, Keira N, Rinda G and Cindy M.

We are KKRC, otherwise known as Krysta, Kiera, Rinda and Cindy. We are in 3rd period Biomedical Innovations. This semester we are studying Traumatic Brain Injuries and all about the brain itself. Our assignment was to research about a section of the brain, and then blog about the function and effects of a TBI. We chose to research the Occipital Lobe and the following article is about our research. 

The Occipital lobe is dorsal to the Coronal plane.

The overall function and purpose of the Occipital lobes is to process visual information. The occipital lobe takes of 12% of the total surface area of the neocortex of the brain. The Occipital lobes are located at the rear end of the cerebral cortex which is responsible for the processes of thought, perception and memory. The Occipital lobes are in charge of processing color, shape, and distance. Direct electrical stimulation produces these visual sensations. Within the Occipital lobes there is a primary visual area that receives visual import from the retina, a layer at the back of the eyeball, which is then interpreted as that visual. 

Since the Occipital Lobe controls the vision and color of your eyes, if your Occipital Lobe is damaged, then you will lose the ability to perceive color or your vision, depending on injury. You can also damage or lose your visual perception. Damage to the Occipital Lobe occurs when you are in a severe car accident, have a fall, or get hurt by a firearm. If it is needed, patients will undergo surgery to repair the Occipital Lobe or do anything to repair the brain. After surgery, once patients are awake patients are generally assessed to see how extensive the brain injury is. They will be examined by Neurologists who will use physical and medical rehabilitation procedures to help the patient gain as much brain function back as possible. They will undergo rehabilitation next, and the duration and intensity depends on the severity of the brain injury. Hopefully after surgery and rehabilitation, they will have their sight or color perception back. Rehabilitation, depending on the the severity of the injury can take up to a few months or up to a year.