Exploring the New Color 'Olo' and Its Impact on Vision Science

Scientists at the University of California Berkeley have taken a groundbreaking step in understanding human vision by successfully creating and perceiving a completely new color dubbed 'olo'. This achievement not only ignites new curiosity about how we see but also opens promising avenues for eye disease treatment and expanding the perception of color.

The discovery was made using an innovative technique called Oz, where researchers manipulated the stimulation of specific photoreceptor cells in the human retina called cones. In particular, they targeted the M cones, which are most sensitive to green light, to produce a highly saturated teal shade, which they named 'olo'. When participants gazed into this setup, they reported perceiving a color unlike any natural green they had known before, surpassing even the most vivid natural hues.

This feat is significant because, in natural conditions, the human eye cannot stimulate only the M cones in isolation—light usually stimulates multiple cone types simultaneously. Professor Austin Roorda highlighted that no naturally occurring light can activate only the M cones without affecting L or S cones, making the perception of olo a unique and unprecedented experience.

The research team, including Professors Roorda and Ng, began exploring what would happen if they could deliver light exclusively to the M cones. The answer was the perception of the 'greenest green' ever seen. During experiments, individuals like Roorda himself saw the color at the size of a fingernail held at arm’s length, with olo appearing far more vibrant than natural green.

This discovery is not just about seeing a new color; it demonstrates the brain's remarkable ability to adapt and interpret new sensory inputs. Roorda explains that this suggests a vast potential for understanding how our brains process colors, and opens the door to manipulating sensory perceptions in ways previously thought impossible.

The implications extend beyond novelty. Because many eye diseases involve damage or loss of cone cells, the Oz platform can simulate various conditions to help understand how vision deteriorates and guide potential treatments such as gene or stem cell therapies. By mimicking cone loss, doctors can better comprehend how patients experience visual deficits, leading to more targeted and effective treatments.

Additionally, this research suggests that the human brain may have the capacity to perceive stimuli beyond our current limitations, potentially adding new dimensions to our visual experience. Simulations show that the brain could decode inputs from multiple cone types to generate entirely new perceptions, leading to a broader understanding of visual processing and perception.

Overall, the ability to create and perceive entirely new colors and simulate visual deficits holds profound promise for advancing both neuroscience and ophthalmology. As Roorda notes, this technology could fundamentally deepen our understanding of human perception, improve eye disease management, and even expand the very way we see the world.