Investigating Potential Human Tetrachromacy in Individuals with Tetrachromat Genotypes Using Multispectral Techniques

Abstract

This article uses multispectral techniques to investigate color processing in two individuals possessing photopigment genotypes allowing potential human tetrachromacy. In our investigations we measure spectral reflectances from empirically reproduced color sensations of potential tetrachromat observers, and investigate color processing basis functions underlying the observed set of tetrachromat spectra. Our investigations provide new empirical and quantitative methods for estimating trichromat individuals personalized spectral sensitivities, and, as shown in one potential tetrachromat examined, permit estimation of spectral sensitivities for cases that may not conform to the kind of standard dimensional solutions typically associated with trichromat models.

Tetrachromacy: the mysterious case of extra-ordinary color vision

“…The two versions of L photopigments differ by 4-5 nm in their wavelength of peak sensitivity, with ser180 being more sensitive to longer wavelengths [10,11]. When this ser180ala polymorphism was first described, one of us raised the possibility that women heterozygous at site 180 might be tetrachromatic [12]; and in a series of subsequent papers, Jameson and colleagues have suggested that this polymorphism may indeed underlie tetrachromacy [13][14][15].…”

Jameson, K., Satalich, T., Joe, K., Bochko, V., Atilano, S., & Kenney, M. Human Color Vision and Tetrachromacy

“…In Section 3, the authors describe one of their own experimental designs capable of detecting superior colour perception. The design is identical to an experiment reported previously by the same group and assesses colour reproduction by asking participants to use mixtures of pigments to match a reference patch of colour (Bochko & Jameson, 2018). Here, the authors present new data where eight of nine participants show enhanced colour reproduction ability that is predicted by their underlying genotypes.…”