Imagine uncovering something in your own backyard that had been lost for over a century—something important, something forgotten.
That’s exactly what a team of neuroscientists at the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences experienced when they stumbled upon a mysterious structure in the brain while studying how children develop reading skills.
“We couldn’t find it in any atlas,” said Jason Yeatman, a researcher on the team.
“We thought we had discovered a new pathway that no one else had noticed before.”
But what they actually found wasn’t new at all.
It was a long-lost part of the human brain that had somehow vanished from scientific literature for nearly a century.
This rediscovered structure, known as the vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF), was first documented in 1881 by German neurologist Carl Wernicke.
However, due to a combination of academic oversight, competing theories, and inconsistent naming in brain atlases, the VOF faded into obscurity—until now.
And here’s why this matters: the VOF plays a crucial role in how we process visual information, affecting everything from reading to motion perception.
The discovery doesn’t just rewrite neuroscience textbooks—it could have real-world implications for education, cognitive disorders, and even artificial intelligence.
The Forgotten Brain Structure That Connects Vision and Perception
To understand the significance of this discovery, let’s take a closer look at what the vertical occipital fasciculus (VOF) actually does.
The VOF is a 5.5-centimeter bundle of long nerve fibers running vertically along the rear of the brain. Its main job?
Connecting different visual-processing areas that help us recognize objects, detect motion, and guide our actions based on what we see.
- It links the “what” and “where” pathways – The VOF acts as a bridge between the lower visual stream, responsible for recognizing objects and faces, and the upper visual stream, which processes movement and spatial awareness.
- It could play a role in reading and learning – Since Yeatman’s team rediscovered the VOF while studying how kids develop reading skills, it suggests this structure might be critical for literacy and education.
- It has been found in other primates – While it disappeared from human brain maps, the VOF has continued to be well-documented in other primates, which raises the question: How did we lose track of it in human neuroscience?
How Did a Major Brain Structure Go Missing for 100 Years?
It might seem impossible for scientists to forget about an entire part of the brain, but the history of the VOF is full of scientific rivalry, academic egos, and a bit of human error.
The story starts in the late 1800s when Carl Wernicke first identified the VOF while dissecting a monkey brain.
Later, he confirmed its presence in humans, but the discovery didn’t gain much traction.
One major reason?
Wernicke’s own superior, Theodor Meynert, ignored it.
Meynert, a leading neuroanatomist of the time (and mentor to Sigmund Freud), had a different theory about how the brain’s pathways worked.
He believed that the brain’s fibers ran mostly horizontally, from front to back, rather than vertically like the VOF.
Wernicke’s discovery directly contradicted his mentor’s model—so it was largely overlooked.
On top of that:
- The VOF appeared in various brain atlases under different names, leading to confusion.
- It’s difficult to spot during dissections, making it easy to miss.
- Neuroscience shifted its focus to other areas, such as cortical mapping and neural circuits related to behavior.
Over time, the VOF simply faded from discussion, remaining well-documented in monkey brains but not human ones—until Yeatman’s team accidentally rediscovered it.
What This Discovery Means for Neuroscience
Now that the VOF has been properly mapped in humans, researchers are eager to understand its full significance.
Yeatman’s team has scanned over 70 people to create a detailed map of the structure, publishing their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
So what does this mean for the future of neuroscience?
- New Insights into Reading and Learning – Since the VOF connects brain regions related to word recognition and attention, it may play a key role in literacy and language processing.
- Better Understanding of Visual Perception – The VOF helps process both object recognition and motion, which could be crucial for studying visual impairments, dyslexia, or conditions like ADHD.
- Implications for AI and Computer Vision – If we better understand how the human brain integrates visual information, it could help improve artificial intelligence systems, robotics, and even augmented reality.
The Next Steps in Brain Research
Yeatman and his team are now diving deeper into how the VOF affects childhood brain development, particularly in relation to reading acquisition and learning disabilities.
Meanwhile, other neuroscientists are exploring whether disruptions in the VOF could be linked to neurological conditions, such as autism, dyslexia, or visual processing disorders.
This rediscovery isn’t just an academic curiosity—it’s a reminder that even in 2025, we’re still uncovering major aspects of human anatomy that have been hiding in plain sight.
So the next time you read a book, recognize a face, or react to something moving in the corner of your eye, remember: a long-lost part of your brain is helping make that happen.
Sources: LiveScience, The Guardian
