An occipitalstrokehappens in the back of the brain.
This lobe, or part of the brain, helps people to recognize what they see.
Strokes in thefrontal,parietal, ortemporallobes happen more often than occipital lobe strokes do.
Verywell / Jiaqi Zhou
Occipital lobe strokes can happen in one or both occipital lobes.
This article will go over why occipital lobe strokes happen.
What Causes an Occipital Lobe Stroke?
If the blood supply to one or both of the occipital lobes gets stopped, it causes a stroke.
Where Is the Occipital Region of the Brain?
There is a cerebral fissure (deep grooves) that divides the two occipital lobes.
Others, such as age, cannot.
Some people develop other vision syndromes.
The occipital lobe is not the same shape and size all around.
Each part of the lobe plays a different role in helping you see.
The visual problems due to a stroke in this lobe depend on which region of it is affected.
Strokes in other parts of the brain can also causevision changes.
Any key in of stroke can affect your vision.
These parts are called the occipital lobes.
This condition is calledhomonymous hemianopia.
A stroke survivor with homonymous hemianopia cannot see objects on one side.
It will be the side that is opposite from the side where the stroke happened.
This vision problem usually affects both of your eyes.
You won’t be able to see your right side from your right eye or your left eye.
However, your eyes work together to see.
This is called visual integration.
If you have homonymous hemianopia, your eyes might not be affected to the same degree.
Your central vision is handled by a part of your brain called the occipital pole.
While strokes in this part of your brain are rare, they do happen.
An occipital pole stroke can cause a big blind spot in the middle of your vision.
The blind spot will be on the same side as the stroke.
This blind spot would make you have trouble seeing the face of a person standing directly across from you.
However, you would still be able to see the person’s shoulder and the top of their head.
This is called cortical blindness.It means the vision loss was resulting from damage to the cortex of the brain.
Some stroke survivors know that they cannot see, but others do not.
Some people are not aware of their blindness and experience visual hallucinations.
The is calledAnton syndromeor Balint syndrome.
Some occipital stroke survivors have a condition called visualanosognosia.
The condition means that the brain ignores one side of the person’s vision.
Visual Illusions
An occipital stroke can lead to visual illusions.
The deficit doesn’t seem to extend to writing ability, though.
In this case, it’s called alexia without agraphia.
How long recovery takes, and how complete a recovery is achieved, also depends on individual circumstances.
Summary
The occipital lobes of the brain help you see.
If a stroke happens in this part of the brain, it can change your vision.
You might not be able to see things on one side of your body.
Some people see things that are not there.
Other people lose their sight completely after a stroke.
Occipital lobe strokes are not common.
However, other strokes can also cause vision changes.
If you suddenly cannot see or are seeing unusual things, seek medical care right away.
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