Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 13, 2026
09:42
Stimulus-specific Cortical Visual Evoked Potential Morphological Patterns
Published on: May 12, 2019
Color and spatial frequency are related to visual pattern sensitivity in migraine
Alex J Shepherd1, Trevor J Hine, Heidi M Beaumont
1Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK. a.shepherd@bbk.ac.uk
Headache
|March 8, 2013
Summary
Colored patterns can reduce visual discomfort and illusions for migraine sufferers. This research suggests color may offer therapeutic benefits for visually triggered migraines.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
Background:
- Visual stimuli like stripes can trigger migraine and discomfort.
- Color may decrease discomfort and migraine frequency.
Purpose of the Study:
- Assess if specific colors alleviate visual discomfort from repetitive patterns in migraine patients.
- Investigate color's therapeutic potential for visually triggered migraines.
Main Methods:
- Striped patterns (3, 12 cycles per degree) with cardinal colors (achromatic, tritan, protan/deutan) were used.
- Migraine and control participants rated discomfort and distortions.
- Assessed visual triggers, contrast sensitivity, color vision, and other visual functions.
Main Results:
- Migraine groups reported fewer illusions with all tested colors, especially for 12 cycles per degree gratings.
- Two colors decreased discomfort significantly in migraineurs.
- Significant group differences found in contrast sensitivity and reported visual triggers.
Conclusions:
- Color can therapeutically reduce illusions from striped patterns in visually triggered migraine.
- The effect was not color-specific and was most pronounced at 12 cycles per degree.
- Further research is recommended to explore color's role in reducing visually triggered migraines.
Related Concept Videos
01:24Color Vision
Color perception begins in the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Two main theories explain how colors are seen: the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory. The trichromatic theory, proposed by Thomas Young in 1802 and extended by Hermann von Helmholtz in 1852, suggests that color vision is based on three types of cone receptors in the retina. These cones are sensitive to different but overlapping ranges of wavelengths corresponding to red, blue, and green.
01:22Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways
At the molecular level, visual signals trigger transformations in photopigment molecules, resulting in changes in the photoreceptor cell's membrane potential. The photon's energy level is denoted by its wavelength, with each specific wavelength of visible light associated with a distinct color. The spectral range of visible light, classified as electromagnetic radiation, spans from 380 to 720 nm. Electromagnetic radiation wavelengths exceeding 720 nm fall under the infrared category, whereas...
01:20Anatomy of the Eyeball
The eye is a spherical, hollow structure composed of three tissue layers. The outer layer — the fibrous tunic, comprises the sclera — a white structure — and the cornea, which is transparent. The sclera encompasses some of the ocular surface, most of which is not visible. However, the 'white of the eye' is distinctively visible in humans compared to other species. The cornea, a clear covering at the front of the eye, enables light penetration. The eye's middle layer, the vascular tunic,...
01:24Vision
Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.
01:21Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
01:26Visual System
Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...