[Neural mechanism of color vision: review]

ABSTRACT

Color vision is one of the most important functions of visual system that has fundamental and considerable roles in visual data gathering, perceptual vision, visual information processing, correlation between different visual information and correlation with other senses. To investigate color vision, we need to understand color vision mechanism with respect to psychophysical findings. In this subject, retinal color vision mechanism and central nervous system play important function with each other, however, in different and parallel processes. For understanding this mechanism, we should focus on neuro-anatomy and neurophysiology of retinal cone cells, other retinal cells, color visual pathways, visual cortex, higher-order visual areas, and mechanisms that underlie the transformation from stimulus to perception. Most significant involved mechanism in color vision is the color opponency in visual system. Additionally, different types of neurons with its connections and other factors like contrast, luminance, brightness, boundary color and surround region color, color constancy, and etc., have many effects on color perception. In this systematic review, peer reviewed articles that published in PubMed from January 1970 to January 2015 have been searched, assessed and interpreted. Additionally, in this review, quantitative and qualitative peer reviewed evidences with regard to inclusion and exclusion criteria, have been gathered, summarized, discussed and concluded. The purpose of this study is to review the structure and function of visual system in color vision