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Actually, the visual cortex of mammals is in the back of the head, about as far from the eyes as possible (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_cortex https://

by kkylin 4y ago

Actually, the visual cortex of mammals is in the back of the head, about as far from the eyes as possible (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_cortex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_cortex), whereas the visual area of octopus are (I think) right next to their eyes. That said, the comparison is not quite that straightforward because our axons are myelinated, which speeds up signals tremendously. Edit: Ok, "as far as possible" is an exaggeration, but they aren't close.

hypertele-Xii 4y ago
The visual cortex has a direct pathway to the retina via the lateral geniculate nuclei. And there are lots of reflexes to fire, before we have time to understand what we're seeing. Like putting your hands in front of your eyes when an object approaches rapidly, long before you recognize what the object is. There needs to be something between the retina and visual cortex to respond to this quickly enough.