The color phi phenomenon is a perceptual illusion in the visual domain which was demonstrated in an experiment by Kolers and von Grunau (1976). The experiment is as follows. A sequence of coloured (usually red and green) dots is presented in a way that the illusion of motion is created. At a certain point in the sequence, the color of the dots that are presented changes abruptly, say from green to red. At the end of the sequence, participants are asked to report what they saw. What is interesting in this case is that  participants report seeing the abrupt color change before the second dot (i.e. with the different color) is actually presented. Now I certainly have some questions on the procedure concerning the spacing and the interstimulus interval used and to what extent they are crucial to the color phi phenomenon.Unfortunately, I don't have access to the original article and I could not find anything on the web so if anyone knows anything, feel free to address those points.However my main concern is this: Q: Has anyone attempted to explain the color phi phenomenon in neuroscientific terms, that is, identifying a neural mechanism responsible for this illusion?
Has there been a neuroscientific explanation of the color phi phenomenon?
cognitive neuroscience;vision;experimental psychology;color