colour vision

colour vision

      ability to distinguish among various wavelengths of light waves and to perceive the differences as differences in hue. The normal human eye can discriminate among hundreds of such bands of wavelengths as they are received by the colour-sensing cells (cones) of the retina. There are three types of cones, each of which contains a distinctive type of pigment; one cone absorbs longer wavelengths (red light), another middle wavelengths (green light), and the third type shorter wavelengths (blue-violet light). A given colour stimulates all three types of receptors with varying effectiveness, and the pattern of these responses determines the colour perceived. In 1986 researchers identified the genes that correspond to the red, green, and blue pigments.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • colour vision — spalvinis regėjimas statusas T sritis fizika atitikmenys: angl. color vision; colour vision vok. Buntsehen, n; Farbensehen, n rus. цветное зрение, n; цветовое зрение, n pranc. vision colorée, f; vision des couleurs, f …   Fizikos terminų žodynas

  • colour vision deficiency —    Also known as colour blindness and anomalous colour vision. All three terms refer to the inability or diminished ability to distinguish between at least two colours. Although this group of visual deficiencies is traditionally known as colour… …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • colour vision deficiency — noun genetic inability to distinguish differences in hue • Syn: ↑color blindness, ↑colour blindness, ↑color vision deficiency • Derivationally related forms: ↑colour blind (for: ↑color blindness), ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • selective sparing of colour vision —    The expression selective sparing of colour vision refers to a rare syndrome in which the affected individual is blind, except for the conscious perception of colour. The condition was first described in 1933 by the American neurologist Israel… …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • anomalous colour vision —    see colour vision deficiency …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • colour — /kul euhr/, n., adj. v.t., v.i. Chiefly Brit. color. Usage. See or1. * * * I Aspect of any object that may be described in terms of hue, brightness, and saturation. It is associated with the visible wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, which …   Universalium

  • colour blindness — Inability to distinguish one or more colours. The human retina contains three types of cone cells that absorb light in different parts of the spectrum. Absence of these types causes colour blindness to red, green, and blue. Colour blindness is a… …   Universalium

  • colour blindness — noun genetic inability to distinguish differences in hue • Syn: ↑color blindness, ↑color vision deficiency, ↑colour vision deficiency • Derivationally related forms: ↑colour blind (for: ↑color blindness), ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • colour blindness —    The term colour blindness was introduced in or shortly before 1844 by the Scottish physicist and homo universalis David Brewster (1781 1868) as an alternative for the expression * Daltonism. Brewster s proposal for this new name was inspired… …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

  • colour-processing deficit —    A generic term for a group of visual phenomena characterized by a marked loss or alteration of colours attributed to a lesion affecting the sensory cortex and/or white matter. Due to a colour processing deficit, colours may either seem… …   Dictionary of Hallucinations

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