Evolution of Neural Computations: Mantis Shrimp and Human Color Decoding. (October 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zaidi, Qasim; Marshall, Justin; Thoen, Hanne; Conway, Bevil R.
• Is Part Of: I-Perception. Volume 5:Number 6(2014)
• Page Start: 492
• Page End: 496
• Publication Date: 2014-10
• Subjects: mantis shrimp -- primate color vision -- color decoding -- tuning curves -- winner-take-all -- photoreceptors -- IT cortex; Perception -- Periodicals; Visual perception -- Periodicals; Perception; Perception; Electronic journals; Periodical; Fulltext; Internet Resources; Periodicals; Periodicals; 153.7
• DOI: 10.1068/i0662sas
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2041-6695

Abstract

Mantis shrimp and primates both possess good color vision, but the neural implementation in the two species is very different, a reflection of the largely unrelated evolutionary lineages of these creatures. Mantis shrimp have scanning compound eyes with 12 classes of photoreceptors, and have evolved a system to decode color information at the front-end of the sensory stream. Primates have image-focusing eyes with three classes of cones, and decode color further along the visual-processing hierarchy. Despite these differences, we report a fascinating parallel between the computational strategies at the color-decoding stage in the brains of stomatopods and primates. Both species appear to use narrowly tuned cells that support interval decoding color identification.