Brain, Vol 121, Issue 9 1669-1685, Copyright © 1998 by Oxford University Press
S Zeki and L Marini
We used the technique of functional magnetic resonance imaging to chart the
colour pathways in the human brain beyond V4. We asked subjects to view
objects that were dressed in natural and unnatural colours as well as their
achromatic counterparts and compared the activity produced in the brain by
each condition. The results showed that both naturally and unnaturally
coloured objects activate a pathway extending from V1 to V4, though not
overlapping totally the activity produced by viewing abstract coloured
Mondrian scenes. Normally coloured objects activated, in addition, more
anterior parts of the fusiform gyrus, the hippocampus and the ventrolateral
frontal cortex. Abnormally coloured objects, by contrast, activated the
dorsolateral frontal cortex. A study of the cortical covariation produced
by these activations revealed that activity in large parts of the occipital
lobe covaried with each. These results, considered against the background
of previous physiological and clinical studies, allow us to discern three
broad cortical stages of colour processing in the human brain. The first is
based on V1 and possibly V2 and is concerned mainly with registering the
presence and intensity of different wavelengths, and with wavelength
differencing. The second stage is based on V4 and is concerned with
automatic colour constancy operations, without regard to memory, judgement
and learning. The third stage, based on the inferior temporal and frontal
cortex, is more concerned with object colours. The results we report, as
well as the schema that we suggest, also allow us to reconcile the
computational theory of Land, implemented without regard to cognitive
factors such as memory and learning, and the cognitive systems of Helmholtz
and Hering, which view such factors as critical in the determination of
colours.
ARTICLES
Three cortical stages of colour processing in the human brain
The Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology, Institute of Neurology, University College London, UK. s.zeki@ucl.ac.uk
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  M. R. Uncapher and M. D. Rugg Selecting for Memory? The Influence of Selective Attention on the Mnemonic Binding of Contextual Information J. Neurosci., June 24, 2009; 29(25): 8270 - 8279. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. J. Cela-Conde, F. J. Ayala, E. Munar, F. Maestu, M. Nadal, M. A. Capo, D. del Rio, J. J. Lopez-Ibor, T. Ortiz, C. Mirasso, et al. From the Cover: Sex-related similarities and differences in the neural correlates of beauty PNAS, March 10, 2009; 106(10): 3847 - 3852. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 H. Park, M. R. Uncapher, and M. D. Rugg Effects of study task on the neural correlates of source encoding Learn. Mem., May 29, 2008; 15(6): 417 - 425. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. R. Conway and D. Y. Tsao Color Architecture in Alert Macaque Cortex Revealed by fMRI Cereb Cortex, November 1, 2006; 16(11): 1604 - 1613. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. E. Bouvier and S. A. Engel Behavioral Deficits and Cortical Damage Loci in Cerebral Achromatopsia Cereb Cortex, February 1, 2006; 16(2): 183 - 191. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 F. Fang, S. O. Murray, D. Kersten, and S. He Orientation-Tuned fMRI Adaptation in Human Visual Cortex J Neurophysiol, December 1, 2005; 94(6): 4188 - 4195. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Zeki The Ferrier Lecture 1995 Behind the Seen: The functional specialization of the brain in space and time Phil Trans R Soc B, June 29, 2005; 360(1458): 1145 - 1183. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. J. Cela-Conde, G. Marty, F. Maestu, T. Ortiz, E. Munar, A. Fernandez, M. Roca, J. Rossello, and F. Quesney Activation of the prefrontal cortex in the human visual aesthetic perception PNAS, April 20, 2004; 101(16): 6321 - 6325. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. Wild, F. A. Rodden, W. Grodd, and W. Ruch Neural correlates of laughter and humour Brain, October 1, 2003; 126(10): 2121 - 2138. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. Edwards, D. Xiao, C. Keysers, P. Foldiak, and D. Perrett Color Sensitivity of Cells Responsive to Complex Stimuli in the Temporal Cortex J Neurophysiol, August 1, 2003; 90(2): 1245 - 1256. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J.-C. Dreher and K. F. Berman Fractionating the neural substrate of cognitive control processes PNAS, October 29, 2002; 99(22): 14595 - 14600. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
G. Avidan, M. Harel, T. Hendler, D. Ben-Bashat, E. Zohary, and R. Malach Contrast Sensitivity in Human Visual Areas and Its Relationship to Object Recognition J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2002; 87(6): 3102 - 3116. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
K. Sakai, O. Hikosaka, R. Takino, S. Miyauchi, M. Nielsen, and T. Tamada What and When: Parallel and Convergent Processing in Motor Control J. Neurosci., April 1, 2000; 20(7): 2691 - 2700. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Cohen, S. Dehaene, L. Naccache, S. Lehericy, G. Dehaene-Lambertz, M.-A. Henaff, and F. Michel The visual word form area: Spatial and temporal characterization of an initial stage of reading in normal subjects and posterior split-brain patients Brain, February 1, 2000; 123(2): 291 - 307. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
V. Walsh How does the cortex construct color? PNAS, November 23, 1999; 96(24): 13594 - 13596. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Zeki, S. Aglioti, D. McKeefry, and G. Berlucchi The neurological basis of conscious color perception in a blind patient PNAS, November 23, 1999; 96(24): 14124 - 14129. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. L. Baumann Art as a Path of Inquiry Nurs Sci Q, April 1, 1999; 12(2): 106 - 110. [PDF]
|
|