Colour and Object Representation: Insights into Human Visual Processing

Abstract

This study investigates the role of colour and texture in object recognition, addressing gaps in previous research that focused on unnatural objects. Using behavioural tasks and fMRI, we explored how natural chromatic texture influences object identification. A backward masking paradigm with varying Stimulus Onset Asynchronies (SOAs) of 40 ms, 100 ms, and 250 ms was employed to examine visual processing timing. The results show that colour significantly improves object recognition performance, more so than texture. The varying SOA results suggest that texture and colour processing take longer than shape processing. fMRI scans identified two key areas in the visual cortex: the Collateral Sulcus (CoS) for colour processing and the Lateral Occipital Complex (LOC) for object recognition. These findings enhance our understanding of how the brain integrates colour and texture information during natural object recognition, contributing to the broader knowledge of visual perception mechanisms.