Consciousness and recognition of five colors-using functional-MRI and brain wave measurements

Author: Ueda Yoshihiro//Hayashi Kouei//Kuroiwa Kyoichi//Miyoshi Naoki////
Affiliation: Dept.of Physiology, Kansai College of Oriental Medicine (Osaka, Japan)
Conference/Journal: J Intl Soc Life Info Science
Date published: 2004
Other: Volume ID: 22 , Issue ID: 2 , Pages: 366 , Word Count: 204


The colors of the five-element color table in Oriental medicine were the starting point for this study. There are psychological reports in which a surrounding color is shown to be able to affect a person's mental condition, and a report in which a color is shown to be able to be distinguished by a blindfolded person using his hands or forehead for sensing. Considering these phenomena, we examined how the differences of color would relate to the consciousness and recognition process of a color. Information on electromagnetic waves (light) received in the retina is perceived in the first sensory receptive field of the occipital lobe while distinguishing each color (color degree) by its brightness. After this, the information is processed in the 18th and 19th fields of the occipital lobe for secondary sensing, and recognition is made from each particular color's information. These fields are considered to be where visual information has been formed as the person developed and grew, and based on the information developed and memorized through interactions with the surrounding environment and the person's lifestyle during the growth process, a color is recognized. Color recognition is considered to appear as a relationship to a color, which is peculiar to a race.