title: Properties of artificial networks evolved to contend with natural spectra.
abstract: Understanding why spectra that are physically the same appear different in different contexts (color contrast), whereas spectra that are physically different appear similar (color constancy) presents a major challenge in vision research. Here, we show that the responses of biologically inspired neural networks evolved on the basis of accumulated experience with spectral stimuli automatically generate contrast and constancy. The results imply that these phenomena are signatures of a strategy that biological vision uses to circumvent the inverse optics problem as it pertains to light spectra, and that double-opponent neurons in early-level vision evolve to serve this purpose. This strategy provides a way of understanding the peculiar relationship between the objective world and subjective color experience, as well as rationalizing the relevant visual circuitry without invoking feature detection or image representation.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Program, Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Singapore 169857; and.
authors.forename: Yaniv
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morgenstern
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Program, Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Singapore 169857; and.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rostami
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience and Behavioral Disorders Program, Duke-National University of Singapore Graduate Medical School, Singapore 169857; andDuke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708 purves@neuro.duke.edu.
authors.forename: Dale
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Purves
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D003116:Color; D003315:Cornea / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: color vision; empirical ranking; perception; receptive field; simple networks