Abstract
Previous experiments using half-split colored spectacles had shown that color perception can be modified after exposure to new sensorimotor contingencies linking color change and eye saccades. The spectacles tinted a large part of the visual field, consequently creating strong non-homogeneity in the adaptation of peripheral retina. The present replication, involving only the central retina, avoids this problem and permits more precise control of the retinal stimulation. The method used is also simpler, can be easily replicated and allows more flexibility in the further study of the effect.
In the present experiment, adaptation trials involve the successive presentation of two patches, first on the left then on the right or the opposite, the left patch being always red and the right patch green. After 40 minutes of adaptation, yellow patches presented in a test stage seem to become redder when the eyes move rightwards and greener when the eyes move leftwards. When the eyes are kept fixed during the adaptation stage, creating a strong non-homogeneity in retinal adaptation, no effect is found. This ensures that, if present, such pure retinal adaptation cannot explain the present effect. A third experiment shows a dependency of the effect on the eye saccadic movement and not on the position on the screen, i. e. on the position of the eyes in the orbit.
These results confirm the involvement of sensorimotor mechanisms in color perception.