The occipital lobe is responsible for visual processing, including color, form, motion, spatial reasoning, and visual memory. It is the smallest and rear-most of the lobes in the brain, and it processes visual signals and assigns meaning to visual perceptions. The occipital lobe is crucial for perceiving the visual world, allowing individuals to see color, movement, facial expressions, and words in the environment, while also integrating this information from other parts of the brain for memory and contextualization.