Fechner-Benham subjective colors do not induce McCollough after-effects.

Fechner-Benham subjective color is widely believed to be governed by local interactions in early (probably retinal) mechanisms. Here we report three lines of phenomenological evidence that suggest otherwise: subjective colors seen in spatially extended stimuli (a) are dependent on global aspects of the stimuli; (b) can become multistable in position; and (c) even after being stabilized do not support the creation of McCollough's colored after-effects--a cortically based phenomenon generally thought to be more central than Fechner-Benham color. These phenomena suggest a central locus that controls perception of subjective color, characterized by pattern dependent interactions among cortical mechanisms that draw their inputs from peripheral units.