Visual Discomfort and Variations in Chromaticity in Art and Nature

Frontiers in Neuroscience

Sarah M. Haigh¹  Arnold J. Wilkins²  Xortia Ross³  Rebecca Ferguson³  Olivier Penacchio⁴ 

[1] Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, United States;Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom;Department of Psychology, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, United States;School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, United Kingdom;

关键词: visual discomfort;    efficient coding;    natural scenes;    image statistics;    color;    chromaticity difference;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnins.2021.711064

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Visual discomfort is related to the statistical regularity of visual images. The contribution of luminance contrast to visual discomfort is well understood and can be framed in terms of a theory of efficient coding of natural stimuli, and linked to metabolic demand. While color is important in our interaction with nature, the effect of color on visual discomfort has received less attention. In this study, we build on the established association between visual discomfort and differences in chromaticity across space. We average the local differences in chromaticity in an image and show that this average is a good predictor of visual discomfort from the image. It accounts for part of the variance left unexplained by variations in luminance. We show that the local chromaticity difference in uncomfortable stimuli is high compared to that typical in natural scenes, except in particular infrequent conditions such as the arrangement of colorful fruits against foliage. Overall, our study discloses a new link between visual ecology and discomfort whereby discomfort arises when adaptive perceptual mechanisms are overstimulated by specific classes of stimuli rarely found in nature.

【 授权许可】

Unknown