Orientation and spatial frequency selectivity of adaptation to color and luminance gratings.

Prolonged viewing of sinusoidal luminance gratings produces elevated contrast detection thresholds for test gratings that are similar in spatial frequency and orientation to the adaptation stimulus. We have used this technique to investigate orientation and spatial frequency selectivity in the processing of color contrast information. Adaptation to isoluminant red-green gratings produces elevated color contrast thresholds that are selective for grating orientation and spatial frequency. Only small elevations in color contrast thresholds occur after adaptation to luminance gratings, and vice versa. Although the color adaptation effects appear slightly less selective than those for luminance, our results suggest similar spatial processing of color and luminance contrast patterns by early stages of the human visual system.