Colour centre

For the anionic vacancy in a crystal filled by one or more electrons, see F-Centre.

The colour centre is a region in the brain responsible for processing the light signals received by the eye into what humans and animals perceive as colour vision.^[1] It consists of two subdivisions, an anterior one, called V4α and a posterior one, called V4. The structural organization of the colour centre on the surface of the human brain can be analysed using an MRI scanner.^[2][3]

Procedure

When exposing a human subject to colour images manipulated by various lighting arrangements the subjects eye responds to the variations in light frequency and intensity. It produces electrical impulses which are conducted by the optical nerve to the visual cortex for the brain to interpret. The electrical activity produced is shown as an area of the brain undergoing stimulation fron the signals produced by the eye. These areas monitored by the MRI scanner can the be digitally recorded and further examined using sophisticated computers to aid scientists with their research.

Visual imparement

Bilateral damage of V4 can cause total colour blindness (achromatopsia).

See also

Visual cortex

References

1. ^ "The architecture of the colour centre in the human visual brain: new results and a review". Institute of Neurology, University College London, London 2000. http://www.vislab.ucl.ac.uk/pdf/ColourCentre_Col300dpi.pdf. Retrieved 6 February 2011. 
2. ^ Brain's Color Processor is Located - Harvard University Gazette
3. ^ The position and topography of the human colour centre as revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging

Sources

• Bartels, A. & S. Zeki (2000). "The architecture of the colour centre in the human visual brain: new results and a review". European Journal of Neuroscience 12 (1): 172–193. doi:10.1046/j.1460-9568.2000.00905.x. PMID 10651872. 
• C. J. Lueck, S. Zeki, K. J. Friston, M.-P. Deiber, P. Cope, V. J. Cunningham, A. A. Lammertsma, C. Kennard, R. S. J. Frackowiak (1989). "The colour centre in the cerebral cortex of man". Nature 340 (6232): 386–389. doi:10.1038/340386a0. PMID 2787893.