Sabtu, 30 Juni 2012

We DON'T all see the same colours say scientists as they claim one person's red is another's blue

We DON'T all see the same colours say scientists as they claim one person's red is another's blue

  • Neurons controlling colour perception are not pre-determined

By Tammy Hughes

PUBLISHED: 10:59 EST, 30 June 2012 | UPDATED: 19:50 EST, 30 June 2012

New research has led scientists to believe that people do not see all the same colours when they look at similar objects.

Although there is a general consensus that red is the same shade as strawberries, blood and the planet Mars some people could perceive the colour red as another person's blue according to experts.

The revelations come after an experiment with monkeys which suggests that our colour perception is shaped by the outside world but follows no predetermined pattern.

One person's red could be another's blue say scientists who believe that colour perception is not pre-determined

One person's red could be another's blue say scientists who believe that colour perception is not pre-determined

In work published in the scientific journal 'Nature', colour vision scientist Jay Neitz from the University of Washington injected a virus into monkeys' eyes which enabled them to see red as well as green and yellow.

Remarkably the group of squirrel monkeys were able to make sense of the new information despite their brains not being genetically programmed to respond to red signals.

The result was that just four months later the monkeys could see in full colour for the first time.

As well as allowing colour-blind humans to tell red from green, the innovative technique could restore sight to the blind.

Sufferers of age-related macular degeneration  -  the most common cause of blindness in the elderly  -  are among the millions who could eventually benefit. 

Breakthrough: Scientists were able to infect squirrel monkeys with a virus which allowed them to see the colour red

Breakthrough: Scientists were able to infect squirrel monkeys with a virus which allowed them to see the colour red

Squirrel monkeys 2.jpg

Importantly, the monkeys were injected with a human gene, suggesting the same technique would work on people.

The 2009 findings prompted researchers to investigate what the monkeys were actually seeing and they concluded that there were no predetermined perceptions ascribed to each wavelength.

The scientists now believe that although people's brains tend to behave in the similarly when they are born neurons are not configured to respond to colour in a default way.

Other research shows different perceptions of colours do not change our emotional response to the same shades.

They found that people's reactions to the colour 'blue' tends to have a calming effect due to the shorter wavelengths of light hitting the retina.

While longer wavelengths (yellow, orange and red) can make us more alert.

Neitz said: 'I would say recent experiments lead us down a road to the idea that we don't all see the same colours.'

While another color vision scientist, Joseph Carroll of the Medical College of Wisconsin, told the website Life's Little Mysteries: 'I think we can say for certain that people don't see the same colours.'

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

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"Anybody see days of the week and months of the year as colours? I do." - enough, Edinburgh, 30/6/2012 23:19.......Yes, I do too. It's called synesthesia. I see all the letters of the alphabet as different colours. For me, e is yellow (as it was for Wittgenstein too), f is leaf green, h is slate blue, o is white. I can read you out the words if you give me the sequence of colours. With whole words, one colour will predominate and take over the word, so my Monday is white, Tuesday is yellow, Wednesday is strawberry red, Thursday is brown, Friday is black. I've been researching this for years, helped by those of my students who have this ability. The one constant I've found is that everyone disagrees on the colours, so it's very personal! Some people also experience sounds as colours (check out Rimbaud's poem 'Les Voyelles') or tastes as colours - one of my informants said that carrots tasted pink. I think this is a different thing from say red/green col our blindness though.

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I'm protanopic. (red-green colourblind). What's purple to a normal person is blue to me. Likewise, pink can be grey, grass green can be orange, and brown and dark green are one and the same, to me. The above strawberry is definitely primary blue, though I have no idea what colour the stalk is.

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Interesting but will we ever know for certain

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So its official: Reality is all in the mind ..!!!

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I've always wondered this, we label it red doesn't mean we 'see' it the same. But hohum we'll never know

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Once id RED this story it BLUE me away, And just to PINK that people see things differently. This story is GREYt!

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I think if there is any difference it would be a small one Some shades might look different. to someone else. If you like this comment click the yellow arrow or if not click the purple one.

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The receptor detects the wavelength and we label it accordingly. We all agree that strawberries are red. The question is NOT what the receptors detect, that is settled; but what does the brain see? If I could see through your brain (NOT your eyes) would I see what I have been used to seeing through mine? I'm not sure that these experiments give an answer.

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Me and my sister used to talk about this when we were young. What if we see colours differently?

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While it's much too complicated to discuss here, I had personal evidence of this possibility some 21 years ago. Certainly, the pedants are right and the colour wavelenths sent out are the same, but it's the brains interpretation of these that is being questioned. We don't all think the same, so why should our brain see colours as the same. But if someone tells me, as a child say, that a strawberry is red, then no matter how my brain sees it I will call this colour red. Analogies are often inaccurate, but think of a set of buttons that light up different coloured lamps. If the wires get crossed, perhaps the red button will cause the blue lamp to light. A similar thing could be happening in the brain.

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