the opponent process theory of color vision
While other theories of color vision explain how color is processed by the eye, opponent-process theory explains how it is processed by the brain. Once information about color is detected by the retina or membrane in the back of the eye, that information is sent to an area of the brain called the thalamus.pponent-process theory was first proposed by Ewald Hering in 1874 and states that we perceive color in terms of opposite ends of the spectrum, specifically red to green, yellow to blue, and white to black.
There are two major theories that explain and guide research on colour vision: the trichromatic theory also known as the Young-Helmholtz theory, and the opponent-process theory. These two theories are complementary and explain processes that operate at different levels of the visual system.Trichromatic Theory.n fact, as you have seen, both theories are needed to explain what is known about colour vision. The trichromatic theory explains colour vision phenomena at the photoreceptor level; the opponent-process theory explains colour vision phenomena that result from the way in which photoreceptors are interconnected neurally.