Guest editorial: Colour in a larger perspective: the rebirth of Gestalt psychology

Journal/Book: Perception. 1997; 26: 207 Brondesbury Park, London, England NW2 5JN. Pion Ltd. 1341-1352.

Abstract: This overview takes the reader from the classical contrast and assimilation studies of the past to today's colour research, in a broad sense, with its renewed emphasis on the phenomenological qualities of visual perception. It shows how the shift in paradigm from local to global effects in single-unit recordings prompted a reappraisal of appearance in visual experiments, not just in colour, but in the perception of motion, texture, and depth as well. Gestalt ideas placed in the context of modern concepts are shown to inspire psychophysicists, neurophysiologists, and computational vision scientists alike. Feedforward, horizontal interactions, and feedback are discussed as potential neuronal mechanisms to account for phenomena such as uniform surfaces, filling-in, and grouping arising from processes beyond the classical receptive field. A look forward towards future developments in the field of figure-ground segregation (Gestalt formation) concludes the article.

Note: Editorial Spillmann L, Univ Freiburg, Brain Res Unit, Inst Biophys & Radiat Biol, Hansastr 9, D-79104 Freiburg, GERMANY

Keyword(s): PRIMARY VISUAL-CORTEX; MOTION PERCEPTION; BRIGHTNESS PERCEPTION; FILLING-IN; NEURAL DYNAMICS; LIGHTNESS PERCEPTION; SUBJECTIVE CONTOURS; CHROMATIC INDUCTION; TEMPORAL PROPERTIES; TRANSPARENT MOTION

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