Brain response to color stimuli: an EEG study with nonlinear approach.

ABSTRACT

Color perception is a major guiding factor in the evolutionary process of human civilization, but most of the neurological background of the same are yet unknown. This work attempts to address this area with an EEG based neuro-cognitive study on response of brain to different color stimuli. With respect to a Grey baseline seven colors of the VIBGYOR were shown to 16 participants with normal color vision and corresponding EEG signals from different lobes (Frontal, Occipital & Parietal) were recorded. In an attempt to quantify the brain response while watching these colors, the corresponding EEG signals were analysed using two of the latest state of the art non-linear techniques (MFDFA and MFDXA) of dealing complex time series. MFDFA revealed that for all the participants the spectral width, and hence the complexity of the EEG signals, reaches a maximum while viewing color Blue, followed by colors Red and Green in all the brain lobes. MFDXA, on the other hand, suggests a lower degree of inter and intra lobe correlation while watching the VIBGYOR colors compared to baseline Grey, hinting towards a post processing of visual information. We hope that along with the novelty of methodologies, the unique outcomes of this study may leave a long term impact in the domain of color perception research.