How does the trichromatic theory of color perception differ from the opponent-process theory? The trichromatic theory of color holds that all possible perceived colors are combinations of three stimuli, while opponent-process theory holds each perceptible color has a matching stimulus. The trichromatic theory of color holds that color perception occurs primarily in the retina, while opponent-process theory holds that color perception occurs mainly in the visual cortex. The trichromatic theory of color holds that white light is split into primary colors, while opponent-process theory holds that component colors are merged into three different signals. The trichromatic theory of color holds that three fundamental colors are encoded by corresponding cones, while opponent-process theory holds that three different cells split two colors each.