Which processing stream is the 'where' pathway associated with motion and spatial location?

• A. Ventral stream
• B. Dorsal stream
• C. Both equally
• D. The auditory pathway

Answer: (B)

The dorsal stream handles motion and where things are in space, guiding visually guided actions. It runs from the primary visual cortex to the parietal lobe and includes motion-sensitive areas like V5/MT, which detect movement, and parietal regions that compute spatial relationships to inform action planning. This pathway is the reason you can reach for a moving object accurately even without consciously identifying it. Damage to the dorsal stream often impairs visually guided actions (optic ataxia) while object recognition remains intact, illustrating its role in spatial processing and action rather than object identity. The ventral stream, in contrast, processes “what” we see—object identity and form—ending in the temporal lobe. The auditory pathway is separate and deals with sound, not visual motion or space.