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Going 3D
09 January 2015

Going 3D

As you've probably noticed, we live in a three-dimensional world. Although we can figure out the shape and size of the things around us by touch, it helps to be able to see our surroundings too. But what you may not know is that our eyes only produce two-dimensional images, like a flat photograph. The brain then has to analyse these pictures and figure out how to interpret them in 3D, but exactly how this happens is a mystery. To find out, researchers are turning to a bit of visual trickery. They're studying the brains of macaque monkeys shown these optical illusions, where some look flat while others appear more three-dimensional. It turns out that a part of the brain called the parietal cortex, towards the back of the head, is responsible for bringing together all the information that we see about an object, rendering it for us in 3D.

Written by Kat Arney

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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