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Published on: February 20, 2014
Paradoxical impact of memory on color appearance of faces
Maryam Hasantash1, Rosa Lafer-Sousa2, Arash Afraz3
1Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, Tehran, P.O. Box 19395-5746, Iran.
Abstract:
What is color vision for? Here we compared the extent to which memory modulates color appearance of objects and faces. Participants matched the colors of stimuli illuminated by low-pressure sodium light, which renders scenes monochromatic. Matches for fruit were not predicted by stimulus identity. In contrast, matches for faces were predictable, but surprising: faces appeared green and looked sick. The paradoxical face-color percept could be explained by a Bayesian observer model constrained by efficient coding. The color-matching data suggest that the face-color prior is established by visual signals arising from the recently evolved L-M cone system, not the older S-cone channel. Taken together, the results show that when retinal mechanisms of color vision are impaired, the impact of memory on color perception is greatest for face color, supporting the idea that trichromatic color plays an important role in social communication.
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