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The effects of color on brightness

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Abstract

Observation of human subjects shows that the spectral returns of equiluminant colored surrounds govern the apparent brightness of achromatic test targets. The influence of color on brightness provides further evidence that perceptions of luminance are generated according to the empirical frequency of the possible sources of visual stimuli, and suggests a novel way of understanding color contrast and constancy.

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Figure 1: Effect of increasing color information consistent with a particular condition of illumination on perceived brightness.
Figure 2: Effect of multiple colors on the relative brightness of equiluminant targets is not due to the number of distinct surfaces in the scene.
Figure 3: Effect of spectrally identical scenes on brightness perception.
Figure 4: Effect of inconsistent color information on the relative brightness of equiluminant targets.
Figure 5: Relation of these observations on brightness contrast to understanding brightness constancy.

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Acknowledgements

We thank David Coppola, David Fitzpatrick, Don Katz, Tom Polger, Len White and Mark Williams for helpful criticism. This work was supported by NIH grant #NS12987.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurobiology, Box 3209, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, 27710 , North Carolina, USA

    R. Beau Lotto & Dale Purves

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  1. R. Beau Lotto
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  2. Dale Purves
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Correspondence to Dale Purves.

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Lotto, R., Purves, D. The effects of color on brightness. Nat Neurosci 2, 1010–1014 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/14808

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