Contrast polarity and edge integration in achromatic color perception.

Previous work has shown that the achromatic color of a target patch embedded in simple two-dimensional display depends not only on the luminance contrast between the target and its immediate surround but also on the contrasts of other nearby edges. Quantitative models have been proposed in which the target color is modeled as a spatially weighted sum of edge contrasts in which the target edge receives the largest weight. Rudd and Arrington [Vision Res.41, 3649 (2001)] elaborated on this idea to include an additional mechanism whereby effects of individual color-inducing edges are "partially blocked" by edges lying along the path between the inducing edge and the target. We tested the blockage model in appearance matching experiments performed with disk-and-single-ring stimuli having all four possible combinations of inner and outer ring edge contrast polarities. Evidence was obtained for both "blockage" (attenuation) and "antiblockage" (amplification) of achromatic color induction signals, depending on the contrast polarities of the inner and outer ring edges. A neural model is proposed to account for our data on the basis of the contrast gain control occurring between cortical edge detector neurons.