When the Visual Pathways Are Damaged

Nerve signals travel along the optic nerve from each eye. The 2 optic nerves meet at the optic chiasm. There, the optic nerve from each eye divides, and half of the nerve fibers from each side cross to the other side. Because of this arrangement, the brain receives information via both optic nerves for the left visual field and for the right visual field. Damage to an eye or the visual pathway causes different types of vision loss depending on where the damage occurs.