{"id":13002,"date":"2023-10-21T09:57:40","date_gmt":"2023-10-21T13:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciencebeta.com\/?p=13002"},"modified":"2023-10-21T09:57:40","modified_gmt":"2023-10-21T13:57:40","slug":"optic-chiasm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciencebeta.com\/optic-chiasm\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Optic Chiasm?"},"content":{"rendered":"
The optic chiasm, also known as the optic chiasma, is the region of the brain where the optic nerves from the right and left eyes intersect. It is situated at the base of the brain, directly beneath the hypothalamus<\/a>.<\/p>\n The optic nerves of the left and right eyes meet in the body’s midline, ventral to the brain, in all vertebrates. In a number of vertebrates, however, the left optic nerve traverses the right optic nerve without fusing with it.<\/p>\n In vertebrates with a substantial overlap of the visual fields of the two eyes, such as the majority of mammals and birds, as well as amphibians and reptiles such as chameleons, the two optic nerves converge at the optic chiasm.<\/p>\n