100 Years of Benham's Top in Colour Science

Abstract

For 100 years Benham's top has been a popular device demonstrating pattern-induced flicker colours (PIFCs). Results of early and recent investigations on PIFCs are reported and show that the phenomenon originates in phase-sensitive lateral interactions of modulated neural activity in the retina followed by additional spatial interactions in the visual cortex behind the locus of binocular fusion. Colour matches with normal colour stimuli indicate that S/(M + L) opponent neurons are involved. Dichromats do not find matching stimuli for all PIFCs. PIFCs may become useful in medical diagnosis. The phenomenon is interpreted as a side effect of a neural mechanism providing colour constancy under normal stimulus conditions.

Flicker-induced color and form: Interdependencies and relation to stimulation frequency and phase

“…However, although stimulus features presented at specific phases during stimulus presentation were found to determine the experience of particular colors, these effects were either attrib-uted to a clear role for spatial information (i.e., the presentation of phase shifted flicker at adjacent regions of the stimulation field; Campenhausen & Schramme, 1995;Roelofs & Zeeman, 1957) or patterns of temporally modulated stimulus magnitude (Festinger et al, 1971;Young, 1977). In the studies presented here, neither spatial variations nor variations in stimulus magnitude were necessary to induce subjective colors and forms.…”

“…Subjective color has mostly been studied by using the Benham disk or similar stimuli (Benham, 1895;Campenhausen & Schramme, 1995;Cohen & Gordon, 1949;Fechner, 1838). The Benham disk is composed of a black sector on one half of the disk and white sectors, containing black arcs at different radii from the center of the disk, on the second half.…”

9. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832)

“…Additionally, an interaction between frequency and illumination can be observed: at lower levels of illumination the optimal stimulation frequency range is lower [71].…”

“…The optimal frequency of stimulation with the Benham disk or related paradigms was shown to lie between 5 and 10 Hz [71], the colour impressions being most vivid at these frequencies.…”

“…Von Campenhausen and colleagues (see [71] for a review) suggested that subjective colours are based on phase-sensitive lateral interactions of modulated neural activity in the retina followed by additional spatial interactions in the visual cortex behind the locus of binocular fusion. Of special importance for this con- Phase relations between the different parts of the stimulation have also been suggested of importance by a number of other groups investigating subjective colour with optical or electrical stimulation [68,78].…”