Hubel and Wiesel Cat Experiment

David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel found the clues to how the mind sees images provided by the eyes. A microelectrode was connected to a nerve in the visual cortex of an anesthetized cat. The microelectrode was

also connected to an amplifier and an

oscilloscope to determine the activity of the visual cortex. The single cell within the visual cortex was activated when the line of light was vertical and moved from left to right. But there was no response when the same line of light was moved up and down.

On repeating the experiment by connecting the electrode to various cells in the visual cortex Hubel and Wiesel found that some cells responded to a spot of the light, the edges of objects, certain angles of lines, specific movements, specific colors and space between the lines rather than the lines themselves. Each cells responds to each part of the image and constructs a map of the retinal image. The brain, most quickly responds to the four major attributes of all viewed objects. Color Form Depth and Movement

Color
Light and color were different names of same visual phenomenon and all the colors were simply mixtures of black and white - Aristotle Thomas Young and Hermann von Helmholtz found that there are three different kinds of photoreceptors in the eye with each one specifically sensitive to a particular color.

Additive and Subtractive color

Every color we see can be made with three primary colors red, green and blue. When light of different color frequencies mix white is formed. This method of color mixing is called additive color. Secondary colors in light are formed when two primary colors are mixed together. When paints are mixed together the colors in the paint absorb every color except the wavelength that we see reflected back. This method of color mixing is called subtractive color.

Color Constancy A process that allows the brain to recognize a familiar object as being a consistent color regardless of the amount of light reflecting from it at a given moment.

Constancy makes square A appear darker than square B, when in fact they are both exactly the same color.

Three ways of Discussing Color

- Objective method - Comparative method - Subjective method Objective method A color can be measured by the location of its wavelength in the electromagnetic spectrum. The visible spectrum ranges from 400nm to 750nm. A color can also be measured by its temperature. Each color has a unique temperature that distinguishes it from every other color.

Color has three characteristics

-Chroma or hue -Value or saturation -Brightness Chroma or hue, is the difference in the wavelengths between individual colors. Value or saturation, is the amount of color concentration. Brightness is the amount of light emitted from the colored object.

Comparative method
It is a method of describing the color by comparing it to an object which possess the same color. For example, the color red would be compared to the color of the blood.

Subjective method
In this method, a color is described by its association with the persons emotions. For example, red and yellow are know as warm colors. The term warm here is psychological distinction and is not related to the actual temperature of the color.