Lecture: Karen Gunther

The School of Optometry invites you attend a guest lecture in their Research Seminar Series.

"How do we see Orange?" will be presented by Karen Gunther, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Wabash College, Crawfordsville, IN.

Friday, 22 May, 2009
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Room 105, Optometry Building

Abstract:
Color vision begins in the cones, of which there are three types: long-wavelength-sensitive ("red"), medium-wavelength-sensitive ("green"), and short-wavelength-sensitive ("blue"). Before these signals leave the retina, they have recombined into a red vs. green axis, a violet vs. chartreuse axis, and a black vs. white axis. But how do we see colors such as orange and turquoise? As the red/green, violet/chartreuse, and black/white axes are known as the cardinal axes of color space, people have proposed the existence of non-cardinal color mechanisms, appearing in the cortex, to underlie our perception of colors such as orange and turquoise. The evidence supporting the existence of such non-cardinal mechanisms has been mixed, with some studies, or some subject within studies, showing their existence and others not. I will present data from two experiments that I have conducted in the search for non-cardinal color mechanisms. I will also discuss some hypotheses for why the literature has been inconclusive.