Achromasia

Achromasia is a rare vision disorder that is characterized by the inability to see colors even though the eyes are functioning normally.

The disorder was first described in 1873 by three neurologists: Elmer Landers, William Hopkins, and Henry Payt. The term achromatopsia was coined by Pite, in reference to the fact that patients are virtually color blind but have normal color vision. Patients suffering from achromasia perceive any light stimulus as white, gray or black. In such people, the perception of the light spectrum occurs according to the black-white “hot-cold” principle. At the same time, people with preserved color vision perceive that such light photons look like pure light or pure color. In other words, achromatopes have no concept of color. Scientists around the world have worked hard on this pathology, since the exact process of loss of color vision has not yet been established. However, research has revealed a connection between heredity and achromatopsia. Unfortunately, this eye disorder is extremely rare, accounting for approximately one case per million of the population. Because of this, various conditions related to the perception of light and color shades were misdiagnosed. Some scientists believe that the syndrome described has been known for many centuries under different names, but there simply was not enough understanding and knowledge of modern neurology to accurately identify the pathology.