Resumen

CORREA, VIVIANA et al. PERCEPTION OF THE VISIBLE SPECTRUM: DIFFERENCES AMONG GENDER AND AGE. rev.fac.med [online]. 2007, vol.15, n.1, pp.7-14. ISSN 0121-5256.

Color perception represents a major adaptive advantage which has been given by evolutionary pathways. It is such an important mechanism of biological signaling, a source of information from the environment. There are external factors other than those related with physiological processes influencing such perception, like sex and gender, due to the presence of estrogens receptors on the retina. The results of a test, designed to distinguish influences of sex, gender and eye diseases upon color perception are presented. The experimental device consisted of accomplishing a chromatic effect in one half of a trapezoidal white card receiving reflection from the other half, which is magenta in color, irradiated with white light. Data from 561 people (289 women and 272 men), whose ages are in the range of 4-71 years were taken. Men and women whose age ranged between 9 and 35 years old perceived lighter tonalities (magenta percentage <50%) than older people. Probably darkening of cornea and lens in people over 35 years old lead to a tendency of perceiving duskier colors. Moreover, women perceive darker colors (46-50% magenta) than men (38-44% magenta). Significant differences were found between ages ranging from of 9-13 (p=0,04) and from 14-18 years old (p=0,03); these ranges coincide with the beginning of hormonal changes, the first age range associated to women, and the second one linked to men

Palabras clave : visual differential sensivity; color vision; sex differences; visual defects.

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