Human Newborn Color Vision: Measurement with Chromatic Stimuli Varying in Excitation Purity

Groups of newborn human infants (N= 180) were habituated to large 16° achromatic (“white”) lights of varying luminance (0.35 to 1.16 log cd/m2) and then tested for recovery of habituation to 16° green (dominant λ = 545 nm), yellow (dominant λ = 585 nm) or red (dominant λ = 650 nm) lights which varied in the level of excitation purity (range = 32 to 83%). Results showed that newborns discriminated the chromatic stimuli from white only when excitation purity values exceeded at least 41% for 545-nm green, 47% for 650-nm red, and 65% for 585-nm yellow, limits much higher than those for adults (