Current Research
Based on the knowledge gained from cerebral achromatopsia case studies, current research is focusing on learning more about the cortical area involved in color processing.
A recent study provided some of the first direct evidence of color-specific processing in the ventral occipital cortex. A subject with a history of seizure activity was examined using fMRI and electrode implantation. Using the fMRI, researchers examined the areas of blood oxygenation in the occipital lobe as the subject viewed various color-specific stimuli. The result of the experiment was the identification of an area in the subject, slightly anterior to the lesioned area in cerebral achromatic patients, that responded to variance in color stimulation. The resolution of the MRI was a limiting factor in identifying areas corresponding to specific colors. The next portion of the study used an electrode implanted in the right hemisphere in the location identified by the fMRI scan as pertaining to color processing. It was found the electrical activity of the area increased when the subject was presented with blue stimuli. The next, and most significant finding of the study, was that when the electrode was used to present an electrical stimulus in the subject’s brain, the subject reported the perception of the color blue. Such a result is consistent with other reports of electrical stimulation in visual field maps eliciting perception of phosphines in subjects’ visual field.
The color stimulus presented is not the only factor in determining the involvement of the VOC in color processing. The amount of attention and the type of object also affect the activiation of the VOC. It has been noted that this area of the occipital lobe may not be a processing center but rather a pathway that is a critical intersection of several cortical areas involved in color perception.
Read more about this topic: Cerebral Achromatopsia
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