Which cranial nerve is associated with visual signal transmission from the retina to the brain?

• A. Trigeminal nerve (CN V)
• B. Facial nerve (CN VII)
• C. Optic nerve (CN II)
• D. Vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII)

Answer: (C)

Visual information travels from the retina, where photoreceptors convert light into neural signals, through retinal ganglion cells whose axons bundle together to form the optic nerve. This nerve carries those signals from the eye toward the brain, enabling vision as the information reaches the thalamus and then the visual cortex. The other nerves listed have different roles—trigeminal handles facial sensation and chewing, facial nerve controls facial muscles and some taste, and vestibulocochlear deals with hearing and balance. So the optic nerve is the one responsible for transmitting visual signals from the retina to the brain.