COLOR CONSTANCY IMPAIRMENTS IN PATIENTS WITH LESIONS OF THE PRESTRIATE CORTEX

Colour matching and colour constancy were studied in seven patients an d 46 control subjects. Subjects were required to match Munsell Colour Chips presented under either identical or different illumination. Thre e of the patients had deficits in colour constancy, i.e. failure to co mpensate for the change in the wavelength composition of the illuminat ion. Two of the patients with defective constancy had suffered bilater al cortical damage to the poterior lingual and fusiform gyri, and one patient had a lesion restricted to the same regions of the right hemis phere. Our observations indicate that these cortical areas, which incl ude part of putative human area V4, play an important role in colour c onstancy.