We found a novel visual illusion by using a rotating disc that has some coloured sectors with black arcs. When this disc rotates, illusory colours are seen in the concentric rings that are created by the rotating arcs. The illusory colours are the opponent colours of the sectors that the corresponding arcs are in. Even though we could not differentiate the colours of the individual sectors when the disc rotated quickly the illusory colours that were the opponent colours of the sector colours could be seen. This visual illusion thus suggests that our visual system can process visual stimuli that we cannot perceive as colours.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
GurMSnodderlyD M, 1997“A dissociation between brain activity and perception: chromatically opponent cortical neurons signal chromatic flicker that is not perceived”Vision Research37377–382
2.
JamesonDHurvichL M, 1961“Opponent chromatic induction: Experimental evaluation and theoretical account”Journal of Optical Society of America5146–53
3.
JiangYZhouKHeS, 2007“Human visual cortex responds to invisible chromatic flicker”Nature Neuroscience10657–662
4.
ShepherdA J, 1997“A vector model of colour contrast in a cone-excitation colour space”Perception26455–470
5.
VulEMacLeodD I, 2006“Contingent aftereffects distinguish conscious and preconscious colour processing”Nature Neuroscience9873–874
