scholarly journals Colour discrimination is in the background

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (24) ◽  
pp. jeb240275
Author(s):  
Kathryn Knight
2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1717) ◽  
pp. 20160065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Almut Kelber ◽  
Carola Yovanovich ◽  
Peter Olsson

Colour discrimination is based on opponent photoreceptor interactions, and limited by receptor noise. In dim light, photon shot noise impairs colour vision, and in vertebrates, the absolute threshold of colour vision is set by dark noise in cones. Nocturnal insects (e.g. moths and nocturnal bees) and vertebrates lacking rods (geckos) have adaptations to reduce receptor noise and use chromatic vision even in very dim light. In contrast, vertebrates with duplex retinae use colour-blind rod vision when noisy cone signals become unreliable, and their transition from cone- to rod-based vision is marked by the Purkinje shift. Rod–cone interactions have not been shown to improve colour vision in dim light, but may contribute to colour vision in mesopic light intensities. Frogs and toads that have two types of rods use opponent signals from these rods to control phototaxis even at their visual threshold. However, for tasks such as prey or mate choice, their colour discrimination abilities fail at brighter light intensities, similar to other vertebrates, probably limited by the dark noise in cones. This article is part of the themed issue 'Vision in dim light’.


Author(s):  
Jaqueline Moraes ◽  
Marizélia Ribeiro De Souza ◽  
Thais Alves Da Silva ◽  
Sandro Eduardo Monsueto

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Kurtenbach ◽  
Ulrike Wagner ◽  
Andreas Neu ◽  
Ulrich Schiefer ◽  
Michael B. Ranke ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gunzo Kawamura ◽  
Teodora Bagarinao ◽  
Patt Kar Hoo ◽  
Joanevieve Justin ◽  
Leong Seng Lim

1995 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
K J Hardy ◽  
C Fisher ◽  
P Heath ◽  
D H Foster ◽  
J H Scarpello

Perception ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 26 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 235-235
Author(s):  
L I Leushina ◽  
V M Bondarko ◽  
A A Nevskaya

Colour discrimination was investigated in infants aged 4 – 14 months. 250 healthy subjects and 80 subjects with slight defects in basic visual functions (the risk group) participated. A coloured toy was moved in front of the subject and disappeared behind a screen, reappearing after 2 – 3 s at the other side. Sometimes when the toy was hidden, the experimenter replaced it with another one that differed only in colour: yellow was replaced by blue or vice versa (Y/B switch), or red by green or vice versa (R/G switch). The form and size of the toy remained constant. The emotional reaction of surprise showed whether the infant discriminated these colour pairs. The brightness of the stimuli was slightly varied make sure that the infant reacted to the change in colour rather than brightness. About 75% of healthy 4 – 5-month-olds showed good expressive reactions to the Y/B switch, and practically all children did so at 7 – 8 months. The discrimination of red and green develops more slowly: only at 12 months did practically all children show good reactions to the R/G switch. In all children, Y/B discrimination preceded R/G discrimination. The mean difference between the numbers of children discriminating these two pairs was 7.6%. The infants of the risk group were as good as their healthy age-mates in Y/B discrimination, but performed significantly less well on R/G: the mean difference between the numbers discriminating the former but not the latter was 17.0%. Possible reasons for the retardation of chromatic discrimination in the risk group are discussed.


Symmetry ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Miletto Petrazzini ◽  
Alessandra Pecunioso ◽  
Marco Dadda ◽  
Christian Agrillo

Several studies in mammals, birds, and fish have documented better cognitive abilities associated with an asymmetrical distribution of cognitive functions in the two halves of the brain, also known as ‘functional brain lateralization’. However, the role of brain lateralization in learning abilities is still unclear. In addition, although recent studies suggest a link between some personality traits and accuracy in cognitive tasks, the relation between anxiety and learning skills in Skinner boxes needs to be clarified. In the present study, we tested the impact of brain lateralization and anxiety-like behaviour in the performance of an extensive operant conditioning task. Zebrafish tested in a Skinner box underwent 500 trials in a colour discrimination task (red vs. yellow and green vs. blue). To assess the degree of lateralization, fish were observed in a detour test in the presence of a dummy predator, and anxiety-like behaviour was studied by observing scototaxis response in an experimental tank divided into light and dark compartments. Although the low performance in the colour discrimination task did not permit the drawing of firm conclusions, no correlation was found between the accuracy in the colour discrimination task and the behaviour in the detour and scototaxis tests. This suggests that neither different degrees of asymmetries in brain lateralization nor anxiety may significantly impact the learning skills of zebrafish.


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