Motion and color cognition

Abstract

The relationships between the perceptions of color and visual motion are complex and intriguing. Evidence from patients with certain rare forms of damage to the cerebral cortex indicates that color and motion are to some extent processed separately within the visual system. This conclusion is buttressed by physiological evidence for separate neural pathways for the processing of color and motion and psychophysical evidence that the perception of motion in color displays is greatly reduced when the colors are isoluminant. However, experiments and demonstrations reveal that the perceptions of color and motion can interact. Motion can trigger the perception of color in achromatic stimuli and in uncolored regions of space. Color can determine the perceived direction of motion, and changes in color can trigger the perception of apparent motion. This article briefly reviews the evidence for separate processing of color and visual motion and for the ways they interact.