Work by a team under Dr. Daniel Felleman at the University of Texas-Houston Medical School have shown how modules of cells called “thin stripes” in a particular region known as V2 in the human brain are arranged and perceive colors. The thin stripes have been associated generally with processing color but little was known about how color was represented in these modules. By showing macaque monkeys a series of colors and recording tiny changes in blood flow along the thin stripes, the team showed that specific portions of the stripes showed restricted regions of peak activity in connection with each specific color. The area that showed peak activity for red would be next to portions that peaked for orange, which in turn was next to yellow, then green, blue and purple. “We believe that the brain uses a spatial code for color such that the location of the peak activity within these color maps determines the color that you see,” Felleman said. “This finding provides the first physiological basis for the perception of the full gamut of color.” The work is published in the Jan 30 issue of Nature.

This work for the first time shows a way to shed light on philosophical questions of color ineffability such as knowing if my red is your green or describing the color red to a blind person. Far from being arguments about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, such questions can shed much light on the very nature of consciousness. In recognition of this fact, the Center for Cognitive Research had perviously honored Dr. Felleman’s work by nominating it for The Most Influential 100 Events in 20th Century Cognitive Science, a list well worth examining for its many other insights besides this one. Dr. Felleman’s work has also made a somewhat less complementary list as well.