The phrase mind's eye refers to the human ability for visualperception, imagination, visualization, andmemory, or, in other words, one's ability to "see" things withthe mind.
The visual pathway is not a one-way street. Higher areas of the brain can also send visual input back to neurons in lower areas of the visual cortex... As humans, we have the ability to see with the mind's eye -to have a perceptual experience in the abscence of visual input. For example, PET scans have shown that when subjects, seated in a room, imagine they are at their front door starting to walk either to the left or right, activation begins in the visual association cortex, the parietal cortex, and the prefrontal cortex - all higher cognitive processing centers of the brain.
The use of the phrase mind's eye does not imply that there is a single or unitaryplace in the mind or brain where visual consciousness occurs. Various philosophers have criticized this view, Daniel Dennett being one of the best-known.Consciousness Explained, Daniel C. Dennett, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1991. ISBN 0316180653.
