22.06.2016The Dress code in our Brain: What a striped dress which became a worldwide internet phenomenon has to do with neuroscience in Bochum

Anne Golisch, Neurological University Clinic, BG-Kliniken Bergmannsheil Bochum

In February 2015 a picture of a striped dress became known worldwide and sparked a global debate: some people saw a black and blue dress, others perceived it as gold and white. What colour did the dress really have? And how is it possible that a single dress can elicit such contrary colour perceptions?

Neuroscientists at the Bergmannsheil University Clinic in Bochum have tried to answer these questions and were able to show that different brain activations are responsible for the optical illusion. This phenomenon may help us broaden our understanding of visual processing.