To install StudyMoose App tap and then “Add to Home Screen”
Save to my list
Remove from my list
Color perception is something so fascinating that happens all the time and we do not even notice it. Many believe that perceiving color happens at the level of the retina, however, color perception goes beyond that, into the brain. A lot of color perception and color processing skills have been closely related to studies done in object recognition. Although one may think that perceiving colors can be the same for every object in the world, studies have shown that different parts of the brain are working for different color processing.
In the many studies that have been done in color processing, it can be seen that colors can relate directly with objects, whether natural or artifacts. Natural objects are objects that have a physical existence for example a strawberry, whereas an artifact object is an object that is handmade for example a tool. Humphreys and colleagues showed that objects from structurally similar categories, such as natural objects, take longer to identify than items from structurally dissimilar categories, such as artifacts, because the representations of structurally similar objects are more likely to be co-activated, therefore resulting in greater levels of competition within the object recognition system (Bramão, 2010).
Verified writer
Proficient in: Brain
4.9 (984)
“ Ok, let me say I’m extremely satisfy with the result while it was a last minute thing. I really enjoy the effort put in. ”
Furthermore, “another potential reason that color information might help in recognizing natural objects is color diagnosticity. Color diagnosticity means the degree to which a particular object is associated with a specific color” (Bramão, 2010). This is something that is interesting because different areas of the brain are activated for color recognition depending on the object in the visual field.
Objects such as natural objects turn out to take a longer period of time for the brain to recognize whereas artifacts objects take a shorter period of time.
Two researchers that had contributed to studies on color processing in the brain are Zeki and McKeefry. Their study in 1998, included nine male participants with the average age of around twenty-seven years. All participants had normal color vision and normal or corrected vision. The study consisted of naturally and unnaturally colored common objects divided into three groups: sixteen scenes of fruits, vegetables, animals and landscapes in their natural colors. Sixteen scenes of fruits, vegetables, animals and landscapes in abnormal colors. And the last group was sixteen scenes of fruits, vegetables, animals and landscapes in their achromatic colors (black, grey or white). The results of this study were so interesting to them that they decided to extend their observations and add another experiment. The same design was used in the new study along with the same procedure. They used multicolored abstract Mondrian scene and its achromatic counterpart, but differed in using additionally the normally colored objects and their black and white counterparts. They wanted to learn whether the part of the fusiform gyrus activated by the multicolored Mondrian is also activated by normally colored objects (Zeki and Marini, 1998). The stimuli were generated by a computer and the output of the computer was fed to a liquid crystal display projection system. The stimuli were projected onto a translucent screen and the subjects viewed the image via a mirror angled at 45 degrees. They used an fMRI machine, and while the patient was in the machine they showed the pictures and the subject had to say what they saw, Zeki and McKeefry would then use the fMRI to detect which areas of the brain were activated with which group. Although there was no priori hypothesis at the beginning of the experiment, they then hypothesized that areas V1, V2 as well as V4 would be activated with the stimuli used. What was found in their study was that humans view colors in relation to objects, much larger parts of the brain are activated when they view them in a more abstract way. There was a significant difference in the brain areas that are activated when objects are dressed in a natural and unnatural color. Areas V1, V2, and V4 are important centers for color vision but they also extend to the cerebral cortex (Zeki and Marini, 1998).
Another study that has been done more recently on color processing was a study conducted by Bramão et al. This study was conducted in 2010, and researchers hypothesized that colored natural objects and artifacts would engage brain regions involved with color knowledge information and retrieval (inferior temporal and frontal activation) to a greater degree compared with B&W natural objects and artifacts. Their study included twenty right-handed Portuguese native speakers (5 men and 15 women, ages around 22 years). All participants had normal or corrected to normal vision. Their study consisted of fifty-six drawings, twenty-eight objects were from natural categories (fruits and animals) and twenty-eight were from artifacts (tools and vehicles). There were also an additional twenty-eight non-object constructed such as lines and shapes. They also used an fMRI machine and participants were presented with the stimulus during the fMRI. There were seven experimental conditions presented to each individual. These conditions were: colored natural objects, black and white natural objects, colored artifacts, black and white artifacts, colored non-objects and black and white non-objects, and a visual fixation. The subjects saw each object twice per condition but not during the same fMRI session (Bramão et al, 2010). From their experiment, they observed two results. Their behavioral results were that all subjects were able to name all the stimuli shown to them correctly. Their fMRI results showed that the contrast between color and B&W stimuli (for both objects and non-objects) did not result in any significant activation, neither did the contrast between color non-objects and B&W non-objects. They also found that the contrast between colored objects and B&W objects showed a significant cluster around the superior parietal region. This study also showed an activation in the right and left fusiform gyrus (area V4) and the right and left hippocampus. This shows us that the brain region that is responsible to color processing are the same when color is a property of natural objects and artifacts, suggesting that color formation has the same role in the recognition of natural objects and artifacts. They then concluded that, colored objects activate the inferior temporal, parahippocampal and inferior frontal brain regions, areas that are typically involved in visual semantic processing and retrieval. This suggests that the recognition of a colored object activates a semantic network in addition to the one that is active during the recognition of B&W objects (Bramão et al, 2010).
Furthermore, it is said that “the perception of colour is a central component of primate vision. Colour facilitates object perception and recognition, and has an important role in scene segmentation and visual memory. Moreover, it provides an aesthetic component to visual experiences that is fundamental to our perception of the world” (Gegenfurtner, 2003). In other studies, such as in Conway and Lafer-Sousa’s study, they hypothesized that the earliest stages in color processing involve detecting and discriminating hue, while the later stages compute color-memory association. For example, the brain may first compute that yellow is diagnostic of banana, then later, color categories are recognized; for example, limes, grass, and fern leaves are all 'green (Rosa, 2013). From previous research studies done for color perception one thing that have been found is how the area V4 (an area located in the fusiform gyrus) has been the main area for color perception in a human brain. This study also revealed a significant area V4 along with other brain regions as a main area for color processing. All the studies done in color processing, have had similar, if not all the same results.
In conclusion, it is easier for the brain to determine and process color that is on a natural object. Natural and Unnatural objects and their colors can be processed in different areas if the brain. It has been discovered that there are effects of color processing in three brain regions including the left frontal gyrus, the right frontal gyrus and the left cerebellum. In the fMRIs taken by researchers these areas are clearly marked demonstrating that there are high levels of brain activity/processing going on in these areas with object-color recognition. “In humans, fMRI studies have shown that the left posterior temporoparietal regions involved in color naming are activated when explicit identity judgements about color are made […] and that there is a stronger activation in language networks when participants search for a colored target among different- rather than the same- category colored distractors” (Bird, 2013).
Color Processing in the Brain. (2022, Feb 28). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/color-processing-in-the-brain-essay
👋 Hi! I’m your smart assistant Amy!
Don’t know where to start? Type your requirements and I’ll connect you to an academic expert within 3 minutes.
get help with your assignment
