Although vision and visual disorders can be assessed without the need for investigations of the brain, brain-imaging techniques allow a unique insight into the development and function of the brain in both health and disease. In this article, the author covers some key revision of the brain and the visual cortex, before moving on to explain important principles of brain imaging with examples of imaging techniques. The review focuses on the structural and functional changes associated with visual disorders, with discussion of the implications of those changes in optometric practice.