Are cone sensitivities determined by natural color statistics?

Abstract

We investigate how the amount of information about colors in natural scenes available to the visual system depends on the spectral sensitivities of the three types of cones. We find that if we do not consider spatial information and low signal-to-noise situations, human cone spectral sensitivity curves do not provide the maximum possible information. This applies not only to information about all colors in natural scenes, but equally to information about colors of edible fruit. However, a significant increase in color information could only be obtained if the L-cone was sensitive to even longer wavelengths, at the expense of a reduction in spatial acuity and in the information available in dim lighting conditions.