The visual thalamus conveys visual information detected by the retina to the visual cortex along parallel pathways with distinct anatomical and physiological characteristics. This group of pathways is comprised of the magnocellular, the parvocellular, and the koniocellular pathways. In this book, the authors present research on the anatomy, functions and injuries of the visual cortex. Topics include the biophysical mechanisms underlying the critical period of visual cortical plasticity; electrophysiological assessment of the human visual system; plasticity of visual cortical circuitries in adulthood; the visual cortex in Alzheimer\'s disease and molecular signatures of parallel pathways in the visual thalamus. Illustrations (some col.)