Binocular rivalry

Interocular grouping during binocular rivalry occurs when two images concurrently presented to two eyes are combined as a coherent pattern as if perceptual experience follows Gestalt grouping principles. The present study investigated what determines rivalry dynamics (perceptual experience of monocular stimuli and interocular grouping) by examining individual differences. Specifically, the effect of eye-of-origin and pattern coherence on percepts during rivalry were individually assessed using pairs of stimuli that induce either monocularly-driven (monocular coherence condition) or interocularly-driven (interocular coherence condition) coherent percepts. We found that the degree of perceiving complete, coherent stimuli was consistent within individuals regardless of conditions, indicating that individual differences in experiencing interocular grouping were explained by pattern coherence, rather than eye-of-origin information. In addition, we found that individuals who experience binocularly presented pattern motion more perceived interocularly-coherent stimuli more. This result suggests that a potential common mechanism may mediate binocular integration of visual information during binocular rivalry.

In the present study, it was examined whether the spatiotemporal dynamics of
transitions towards target dominance in motion-induced blindness (MIB) were wave-like,
similar to those in binocular rivalry. The spatiotemporal dynamics of transitions towards
dominance in MIB were further compared with those in binocular rivalry to reveal a
potential neural locus of MIB. Across a series of experiments, the relationship between
target length, stimulus structure, presentation location and the latency for circular arc
segment-shaped targets to reappear was examined, respectively. It was found that target
reappearance durations increase with target length, as if they reappear in a gradual, wavelike
fashion. Target reappearance durations were decreased for collinear compared to
radial targets, but they were not influenced by the location of target presentation. The
results suggest MIB target reappearances are associated with traveling waves of
dominance, and early visual cortex is a likely neural substrate in which these wave-like
transitions occur.