title: The effects of prolonged temporal modulation on the differential response of color mechanisms.
abstract: The identification of three independent cardinal directions in color space suggests the existence of three independent post-receptoral mechanisms that can be desensitized by habituation to a temporally modulated light. In this paper, the differential response of each cardinal mechanism is estimated over a range of inputs before and after habituation. Simple mathematical considerations show that the threshold elevations following temporal modulation are not consistent with multiplicative gain changes; rather, these elevations require a change in the shape of each cardinal mechanism's response function. With this method, the effects of habituation can also be differentiated from the effects of a change in the steady adapting light.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027.
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Shapiro
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zaidi
mesh_terms: D000221:Adaptation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D003118:Color Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D006185:Habituation, Psychophysiologic; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008433:Mathematics; D008954:Models, Biological; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012684:Sensory Thresholds