Color processing in the brain is a complex process that involves multiple steps:
- Light enters the eye and stimulates cone cells in the retina
- These cells convert light into electrical signals
- Signals travel through the optic nerve to the visual cortex
- The brain processes these signals in specialized areas called V4 and V8
The brain doesn’t just passively receive color information – it actively interprets it based on context, memory, and expectations. This is why optical illusions can trick our color perception, and why the same color can appear different under various lighting conditions. The phenomenon known as color constancy helps us recognize objects as having the same color even under different illumination conditions.