COLOR VISION

NAZMA SULTANA HUSSAIN

 Introduction
• Color vision is the ability of the eye to
discriminate between colors excited by
different wavelengths of light
• Function of cone- Better appreciated in
photopic vison
• Absent in scotopic vision
• Our eyes perceive color with wavelength
ranging from 400-700nm
 Types of vision
• Achromatic – Sensation of white vision with
no color
• Chromatic Vision – Sensation of Color vision
 Spectral Color Vision
 Extra Spectral Color Vision( Mixing of two
spectrum)
 Types of Color
• There are two types of Color :
 Primary Colors : Blue, Green , Red and mixing
of three colors
 Complementary Colors : When two colors are
mixed in appropriate amount it cancel the
colors and produces white sensation
 Attributes of Color
• There are three attributes of colors :
 Hue
 Saturation
 Brightness
 Hue
• Strongest effect on color
• Major determination of principle of
color(RYGB)
• Function of wavelength
• 200 varieties
 Saturation
• Reflects how much a hue has been diluted by
grayness (intensity of purity of hue)
• At short and long wavelength, 20 distinguishable
steps of saturation for each hue
• In middle spectral, 6 distinguishable steps of
saturation
• The more the white, the less is the saturation and
looks faded and wasted
• 100% saturated means there is no addition of gray to
the hue (100% pure)
 Brightness
• The relative degree of black or white mixed
with give hue
• Sensation shared achromatic visual system
• Have 500 distinguishable steps of brightness
for every hue and grade of saturation
 Physiology of Vision
Colored Light strikes on retina

Produces local potential

Bipolar cells

Activates ganglion cells

Processing in cone photopigments

 Physiology of Vision
Lateral geniculate nucleus

LMS- Relay in Parvo cells and conio cells; white

and black relay in magno cells

Primary Visual Cortex

Impulse reach layer 2 & 3

Has clusters of neurons called blobs and layer 4

 Physiology of Vision

Color Information

Projected Finally to V8

Converts Color inputs into

sensation of color
 Theories of Color Vision
• Young – Helmholtz Theory of Color Vision
( Trichromatic Color Theory)
• Granit’s Dominator and Modulator Theory
• Hering’s Opponent Color Theory
 Trichromatic Theory
• Operates at the receptor level
• Postulated by Young and proposed after color
matching experiment by Helmholtz
• Known as Young Helmholtz Maxwell Theory
• Based on
 3 Classes of cones receptors of sub serving
color vision
 “ Color match in the visible spectrum possible
by appropriate mixing of three primary colors”
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• 1st Class
 SWS, 4%
 Blue cones
 Most sensitive to blue violet wavelength around 435nm
• 2nd Class
 MWS receptors
 32% in retina
 Green Cones
 Most sensitive to green wavelength around 530nm
• 3rd Class
 LWS receptors
 64% in retina
 Red Cones
 Most sensitive to greenish – yellow wavelength of 565nm
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• Three classes of cones in human retina are with different
but overlapping sensitivities
• Each molecule of cone photo pigments consists of
chromophore and opsin
• The chromophore which is identical for all cone
photopigments is retinal
• Light quadrants are absorbed by the chromophore
initiating the series of events leading to vision
• It is the opsin, virtually inert chain of amino acids that
determines the absorption characteristics of the
photopigment molecules
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• Each class of cones has a different opsin. The genes for the
photopigment of M & L cones are situated on the X-
Chromosome
• So, color vision deficiencies in which either the M or L cones is
missing are inherited in sex- linked manner
• The genes of S cone photpigment is on chromosome 7 and for
rhodopsin is found in 3
• Color blindness is based on this theory
• This theory fails to explain the black sensation as black is also
considered as a color
• This also fails to explain how the peripheral color blind zones
perceives yellow, white or grey sensation
Granits Dominator and Modulator Theory
• Granit introduced micro-electrodes into the ganglion cells and investigate
the sensitivity to light of various wavelengths
a) Dominator
b) Modulator
• Dominator – These respond to the whole visual spectrum. These are
supposed to detect the intensity of the light but not the color. This is due
to “Y” ganglion cells
• Modulators – These respond maximum to a narrow wavelength of light
• Blue light wavelength 450-470nm
• Green light wavelength 520-540nm
• Red Yellow light wavelength 500-600nm
• Hence the modulators are responsible for color vision. According to the
latest concept the X ganglion cells are supposed to be the modulators
 Herring’s Opponent Theory
• This is an extension of trichromatic theory and
based on this theory there are four primary
colours—blue, green, yellow and red.
• According to this theory the photochemical
substances give one sensation on breakdown
and a different one on resynthesis.
• According to this theory, complementary
colours become antagonistic to its respective
primary colours.
 COLOR BLINDNESS
• Insensitive to colors i.e. inability on the part of
an individual to recognize the colors is called
color blindness
• Inherited sex linked anomaly
• Due to abnormal gene on X- chromosome
• Females are carriers
• Incidence in males- 8%, females- 0.4%
 Types of Color Vision
• Acquired
• Congenital
 Difference
Congenital Acquired

Other Visual Functions ( example VA, VF, Other visual abnormalities are found
ERG) are normal

The defect is stable The defect may progress or regress

Symmetrical in both eyes Often asymmetrical

Prevalent more in females than males Equal predisposition

 Acquired color vision defect
• Defects due to ocular disease, side effects of
medication , consequence of toxic poisoning or head
trauma
• Occurs due to disruption of the neural pathway
between the eye and vision center of the brain
rather than by the loss of cone function in the eye
• Example : Brain Damage- Achromatopsia
Parkinson’s Disease, Retinitis Pigmentosa, Diabetic
Retinopathy – Tritanopia
Stargardt’s Disease – Protanopia
 Drug Causing Color Blindness
• Red-Green defects
 Anti-diabetics( oral), Tuberculostatics
• Blue-Yellow Defects
 erythromycin, Indomethacin, Trimethadione
etc
• Red-Green and Blue-Yellow Defects
 Ethanol, Oral Contraceptives, Cardiac
glycosides
 Congenital color vision defect
• Overwhelmingly affect the L- Cones or the M-
cones
• Total color blindness are relatively rare
• Blue – yellow color blindness much rarer
deficiencies involving the S- Cones
 Anomalous Trichromacy
• Partial deficiencies in one of the three cone
pigments
• Three reference color are used
 Protanomaly( Protanolomous trichromacy)
• The erythrolabe spectrum is displaced towards
the shorter wavelength
• Might have brightness problem
• Poor color discrimination in hues of orange, red,
yellow, green region of the spectrum
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• Deuteranomly( Deuteronomalous Trichromacy)
 The Chorolabe spectrum is displaced towards longer
wavelength
 No loss of brightness problem
 Poor color discrimation in hues of red, orange, yellow,
green region of the spectrum
• Tritanomaly
 Very rare
 Blue- Green and yellow-green insensitivity
 Cone pigment for blue defective
 Dichromacy
• Have two cone receptors rather than three
• Match all the spectral hues using two color
matching variables
• Types : Depending on which cone pigment is missing
 Protanopia
• Most common
• 1% male, 0.02% female
• Lacking the long-wave ‘red’ sensitive receptors
• Red may be confused with black or dark grey
 Contd..
• Deutranopia
 1% male, 0.01% female
 Lack the middle- wave ‘green’ sensitive receptors
 Same problem of hue discrimation as protanopes but
without the abnormal dimming
• Tritanopia
 very rare
 0.01% of males and 0.03% of females
 Lack the short-wave ‘blue’ sensitive cones
 Blue –yellow confusion
Monochromacy (Atypical Monochromacy)

• Blue – Cone Monochromacy

 Presence of single cone vision
 An autosomal recessive trait
 L & M- cones missing with presence of the S-
cones and the rods
 Very Rare
Achromatopsia ( Typical Monochromacy)

• Complete absence of any cones or a very low

normal cone density
• The achromat see in black & white with
shades of grey
• Characterized
• Reduced visual acuity from infancy
• Photophobia
• Absence of foveal reflex
 Color Vision Test- Purpose
• Clinical Diagnosis :
 Identify hereditary and acquired color deficiencies
 Evaluate macular function
 First visit to the practice – generally once in a lifetime if no
abnormality in vision
 Vocational counselling- Artist, Drivers, Electrician
 Identification of vision fitness
 Patient with abnormal fundus
 Children
 Patient on first official visit
 Unexplained reduction of Visual Acuity
 Low Visual Acuity
 Painless photophobia and nystagmus
 Color Vision Testing
• Pseudo-Iscochromatic or PolyChromatic Plates
• Hue Discrimination( Color arrangement tests)
• Anomaloscopes
• Color Naming & Color Sorting
Pseudo- isochromatic or polychromatic plates
• Hue + Saturation Discrimination
• Examples: Ishihara, AOHRR ,Devorine
 Characteristics Features
• Plates consist of figures - color dots arranged among a
background of dots of another color
• Color - arranged - lie close to confusion zones for color defects
• measure extent of the CVDs.
• Testing require hue or saturation difference -an identification of
that figure
• Colors of figure & background - indistinguishable for CVDs
• Proper light source should be used - as characteristics changes
with change in illuminant. Color Vision Assessing tests
 Ishihara Pseudo-Isochromatic Plates
• Ishihara Plates- 1st published in 1917
• Ideal screening
• Detection of Red-Green defect and Blue-Yellow goes
undetected
• Produces too many false positive
• Test figures in most plate in digit or winding paths to be
traced
• First Plate- Demonstration Plate
• Rest for detection of color vision defects
• Currently available editions- 38, 24 and 16 plate version
 Ishihara Pseudo-Isochromatic Plates
• Pseudo- Isochromatic Plates are designed in five ways
 Demonstration Plates : All person both normal and color vision defect
can see the figure
 Transformation Plates: Person with normal color Vision sees one
figure and a color vision defect person sees another ( figure 21a)
 Vanishing Plates: Person with normal color vision see the figure while
a Color Vision Defect will not ( figure 21b)
 Hidden- Digit Plates : Person with normal color vision does not see a
figure while a color vision defect will see the figure( figure 22a)
 Diagnostics Plates : Designed to be seen by normal subjects while color
vision defect with deutan type color vision deficiency should 2 more
easily while a protan type color vision deficiency should see the 6
more easily
 Procedure
• Visual acuity greater than 6/60
• Illumination – 500-600 lux; 20 to 60 ft cd or
day light illumination
• Testing distance- 75cm to 100cm or at arm’s
length
• Observation time = 3 to 5 seconds per plate
• Monocularly to right eye then to left eye
 Interpretation
• Count the number of plates
• Exclude the demonstration plate from this
total
• More then indicated number of errors made
protan / deutan defect almost certain to be
present
• 38 plate edition : 4 or less- normal; 8 or more
– deficient
 Interpretation
• 24 plate edition = 2 or less- normal; 6 or more
– deficient
• 16 plate edition= 2 or less – normal; 4 or more
– deficient
• The number of errors is not a reliable estimate
of the severity of any color vision defect
 Devorine
• Widely used screening test
for protan and deutan
• 15 plates- arabic numerals
• 8 plates – wandering trails
• 1 plate – demonstration
plate
• Failure – 3 or more
• Unique feature- PIC plates
+ a nomenclature plate
 AOHHR plate
• Produced by american optical company
• Named after hardy, rand, ritter
• Consists of 24 plates
• Background color of every plate is neutral grey printed with
dots of different lightness
• Test figure are geometrical shaped – a circle, an X and a triangle
• Initial 4 sets of demonstration, after that, sets of 6 plates
demonstrate CVD, next series gives the severity( mild,
moderate, severe)
• Test all types of color vision defect
• Not available nowadays
 Hue Discrimination tests
• Qualitative test for hue discrimination
• Diagnosis of the type and degree of color
vision defect
• Cannot distinguish between dichromats and
anomalous trichromats
• Consists of colored caps of different hue to be
arranged in a serial order of hue
Fransworth Dichotomous D-15 Test
• A set of 16 different colored papers
fixed in numbered caps contained
in a tray
• Each cap expresses a 1.2cm circular
disc of colored paper
• Reference cap fixed while others
are movable
• Because of large differences in color
of adjacent cap it evaluates major
confusion of severe red-green or
blue yellow defects
• Administered after the color vision
defect has been indicated by fail on
the Ishihara Charts
 Procedure
• Illumination should be at least
270 Lux or almost natural
daylight
• View from 50 cm with the
illuminant placed so that no
reflections are possible from the
cap surfaces
• Present the test to the RE first
then to the LE
• Remove moveable caps from the
tray and arrange them in
random sequence before the
opened tray
 Interpretation
• Record the order in which the
caps were arranged
• Plot the cap sequence on the hue
circle
• More than two crossings made
determine the orientation of the
confusion axis
• If two or fewer crossings = defect
not severe
• If mire than two crossings made ,
severe defect and orientation
tells the type of defect
 Fransworth Munsell 100 hue test
• An expanded version of
panel D-15 test
• Consists of 85 caps divided
approximately equally in
four boxes
• Main purpose – To classify
type of CVD ; to measure
the severity
• Can also be used to assess
the progression of an
acquired CVD
 Procedure
• Almost similar to that of D-15 test except
 Time allowed per box is usually 3 times
 Record the sequence of numbers for each box that includes a
polar co-ordinates graph for plotting the error score for each cap
 Error score for a cap = sum of the absolute difference between
the number of the cap and those adjacent to it
 Calculate error score by positional difference between caps of
either sides; example= if 6 between 5 and 7 (correct sequence) =
score of 2; if 6 between 5 and 11 ( correct sequence) = score of 6
 Error scoring plotted in circular polar diagram
• correcting order = closer to center (score of 2)
• Incorrect order = score further away from centre
 Interpretation of the charts
• If the plot is
horizontally extended
then protan defect is
present
• For obliquely
oriented- deutran
• For vertical - tritan
 L Anthony Desaturated D-15 Tests
• Similar no of caps as that of D-15
• Tested after passing D-15
• To classify type and assess severity ( in mild CVD) or
• Tested after Ishihara
• To detect acquired tritan defect
• To monitor and assess the progression of acquired
defect
• Interpretation
• Two or few crossing – mild proton/deutan CVD
• Two or more crossing & passed D-15 – moderate CVD
 City University Color Vision Test
• Administer after a fail on Ishihara
• Aim to classify severe CVD into either types
• Used as an alternative of D-15
• Test based on D-15
• Not suitable for screening
• Asked to match 4 outsides spots of color to
the middle in spot
• Need illumination of 600 lux to 900 lux
 Interpretation
• Response for the types recorded in ratios
separately e.g 4 normal response & 6 deutan
response - record as 6/10; 6/10 medium
deutan defect; 10/10 severe deutan defect
• Score doesn’t distinguish between dichromats
and anomalous trichromates
 Anomaloscope
• Evaluation of an individuals Rayleigh matches ,i.e
the proportions of red and green light that need
to be mixed to match a yellow
• Most effective for the classification of R/G defect
• Judgment defect made for relative amount of Red
&Green used to match given yellow is taken under
consideration to classify the color vision defect
• Types – Nagel Anomaloscope & Neitz
Anomaloscope
 Procedure
• The patient is presented with a bi-field, one
half composed with a mixture of red and
green lights, the other a yellow light
• The proportion of red and green in the
mixture and the intensity of the yellow light is
adjustable
• The patient can be asked to perform free
matches that is control both the top and the
bottom field until a match is obtained
 Interpretation
• Normal Subjects
 Matches in a narrow range
 A scale of 0( pure green ) to 73 (pure red) & normal match will be around 42
units
• Protans
 turn down the intensity of yellow light when matching the field with red one
• Dichromates
 Able to match the yellow to pure red, pure green and all mixture in between
by simply adjusting
• Protanomalous
 Need more red in the mixture then yellow
• Deuteronamlous
 Need more green in the mixture to match with yellow
 Color Naming and Color Suiting Test
• The eldridge – green color perception lantern
test
• The giles- archer color perception unit
• Fransworth lantern
• Homes wright lantern
 Lantern test
• Lantern test - subject is asked to identity the
color of a signal light in lantern
• Hue, brightness, saturation & size of the test
light can be altered by filters and apertures
• Judgment of color vision defect is made by the
mistakes
• Not so popular test
 Yarn test
• Oldest color sorting test
• Relay on brightness difference than on the hue
• Not effective for diagnostic purpose
 Procedure
• Require the subject to select from the pile of
colored yarns those which resembles a standard
skin
• Unreliable as dyes are not standardized
 Management of Color Blindness
• Ideally there is no treatment
• There are smart phones with a software , when seen
through their camera shows the actual colours the
way a normal person would see
• Red Green Colour Blind people can not see 3D movies
which use Red and Green filters but can see recent 3D
movies which are devised to be seen with glasses
using crossed Polaroid lenses
• X-chrome lens is a monocular (non- dominant)contact
lens which significantly enhance colour perception
 Continue..
• Colormax lenses are tinted prescription spectacle lenses
intended as an optical aid for people with red-green
colour vision deficiency
• Do not help wearer to percieve or appreciate colour like
normal person but merely add brightness/darkness
differences to colour
• Some filters may help to distinguish the colours but not
in the identification of colours
• The purpose of this is to eliminate certain lights and
modify the light reaching the eyes so that the receptors
receive correct information
 Continue
• Gene therapy
• It is experimental aiming to convert
congenitally colour blind to trichromats by
introducing photopigment gene
• As of 2014 there is no medical entity offering
this treatment
• No clinical trial available for volunteers
 Factors affecting color vision
• Lens : In young it absorbs light of shorter wavelength
(<400 nm), so does not affect color vision. In old people
longer wavelength of visible spectrum is absorbed
• Retinal Description of Color: The centre of fovea is
unique in having highest spatial density of red and
green cones, with blue cones eliminated from central
1/8 deg of the visual field
• Trichromatic vision extends up to 20 – 30 degrees from
the point of fixation, beyond which the color becomes
indistinguishable
 Factors Affecting Color Vision
• Color Encoding of Cerebral Cortex: The striate
cortex contains group of cells referred to as
blobs In layers 2 and 3 blobs exhibit color
double opponency.An observer’s color vision
includes color matching and color
discrimination.
• Color Matching : Any physical color can be
matched using additive mixtures of the color
and three primary colors.
 COLOR BLINDNESS
• The classification of colour blindness is based
on the Young-Helmholtz theory of colour vision
• Based on three receptor theory, individuals
suffering from colour blindness are classified
into:
1. Trichromats.
2. Dichromats.
3. Monochromats.
 COLOR BLINDNESS
1. Trichromats These are the people with
weakness for one primary colour. Accordingly,
these are classified into:
a) Protanomolous Weakness to red colour—
common occurrance is 6% and sex-linked.
b) Deuteranomalous Weakness to green colour -
occurance is 6% and sex-linked.
c) Tritanomalous weakness to blue clolour—rare,
not sex-linked.
 COLOR BLINDNESS
2.Dichromats: These are the individuals with two
cone systems. These cannot appreciate one
primary colour. Accordingly they may have:
a) Protanopia — blindness to red. Phorphyropsin
pigment is absent.
b) Deuteranopia—blindness to green. lodopsin
pigment is absent.
c) Tritanopia — blindness to blue. Cyanopsin
pigment is absent.
 MONOCHROMATS
• They have only one cone system.
• These people can see black, white and shades
of grey