Palinopsia is characterized by persistence of visual images after the end of a stimulus, typically due to lesions in which brain regions?

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Palinopsia arises when the brain cannot properly terminate or update a visual percept after the stimulus ends. This points to disruption in the dorsal visual stream, which runs from the occipital cortex to the parietal lobes and is essential for processing spatial aspects and updating ongoing visual information. When this circuitry is damaged, especially in the right hemisphere, the lingering visual image can persist because the system that suppresses or concludes the percept is impaired.

Lesions in the right occipital and parietal regions specifically disrupt this post-stimulus updating of visual input, leading to palinopsia. In contrast, the left temporal lobe is more about language and object recognition, the cerebellum about coordination, and the frontal lobe about higher-level planning and control; none of these are the primary substrates for persistent visual afterimages.