Optic nerve - back of head

[AA999]

Was just wondering what evolutionary process would have caused the optic nerve to be at the back of the head rather than the front?
Front of the head = eyes more or less plugged directly in to brain rather than a nerve travelling to the back of the brain; would inevitably mean faster reception of visual information....albeit we would be talking minute fractions of a second....but all the same, evolution is supposed to result in the 'best' result.

Animals eyes have evolved in to elements that can have pin-sharp focus with colour, contrast and depth of field. All this shows how important eyes are.....but the optic nerve 'seems' to have 'excess' length?

[CrutyRammers]

AA999 said:

but all the same, evolution is supposed to result in the 'best' result.

Not quite - closer would be the best out of all the results which have arisen by chance, which will not necessarily be the best possible.

[Engineer1]

Or even better the least worst if it does the job well enough then it's good enough, come join us in the nut house that is the Evolution Vs Made up st Creation thread.

[budgie smuggler]

Maybe like the laryngeal nerve the path of the nerve/layout of the brain made more sense when it originally developed.

[The Nur]

Your brain is like a computer; the plug sockets are in the back.

[AA999]

Engineer1 said:

Or even better the least worst if it does the job well enough then it's good enough, come join us in the nut house that is the Evolution Vs Made up st Creation thread.

I've had a quick peek in to that thread and I think I'll stay well away from the sky pixie stories.

[Hooli]

The Nur said:

Your brain is like a computer; the plug sockets are in the back.

Ah, so the brain is like my HP desktop - Old slow USB2 on the front & new fancy fast USB3s on the back.

[moreflaps]

AA999 said:

Was just wondering what evolutionary process would have caused the optic nerve to be at the back of the head rather than the front?
Front of the head = eyes more or less plugged directly in to brain rather than a nerve travelling to the back of the brain; would inevitably mean faster reception of visual information....albeit we would be talking minute fractions of a second....but all the same, evolution is supposed to result in the 'best' result.

Animals eyes have evolved in to elements that can have pin-sharp focus with colour, contrast and depth of field. All this shows how important eyes are.....but the optic nerve 'seems' to have 'excess' length?

The brain folded as it became more sophisticated.

HTH

[Halmyre]

Hooli said:

The Nur said:

Your brain is like a computer; the plug sockets are in the back.

Ah, so the brain is like my HP desktop - Old slow USB2 on the front & new fancy fast USB3s on the back.

I think my brain is like that shonky RAM expansion connector on the back of a ZX81.

[voyds9]

I thought most of the transmission time was across the synapse rather than along the nerve.

[Prof Prolapse]

The eye is daft if you were to design it;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb9_x1wgm7E

Wiring is fking mental.

ETA: Sorry this doesn't mention the nerves. I can't find the clip doing so. I owe you 7 minutes of your life.

Edited by Prof Prolapse on Wednesday 26th February 10:06

[Monty Python]

The optic nerve isn't at the back of the head - it runs from the back of the eye to the lateral geniculate nucleus. The visual cortex, which processes vision, is at the back of the head.