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Goto H, Urakawa T, Maeda Y, Kurita Y, Araki O. Cortical theta phase synchronization involved in mismatch-driven perceptual alternation in binocular rivalry. Neurosci Lett 2024; 834:137847. [PMID: 38821200 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2024.137847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Revised: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024]
Abstract
When two conflicting images are presented to each eye, a phenomenon called binocular rivalry occurs in which we initially perceive one image, and then our perception switches to the other over time. An enhancement of θ-band phase coherence in visual mismatch oscillatory response (vMOR) is reported to be involved in the facilitation of perceptual alternation when the deviant stimulus is presented unconsciously. In this study, we investigated the modulation effect of θ-band transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on perceptual alternation in binocular rivalry, with a focus on its relationship with the θ-band vMOR. The results showed that tACS had no significant effect on the mean proportion of perceptual alternation. Analyzing the differential effects of the modulation, however, we found a positive correlation between the increase in inter-trial phase coherence of the vMOR and the promotion of perceptual alternation under the unconscious deviant condition. Additionally, our findings indicate that the θ-band phase synchrony between frontal and occipital electrode sides, as measured by the phase lag index, is implicated in perceptual alternation, with an increase (decrease) in connection density observed in participants whose perceptual alternation was increased (decreased) by tACS. These results support the hypothesis that deviant visual stimuli evoke θ-band phase synchrony between the frontal and occipital cortices, thereby enhancing perceptual alternation in binocular rivalry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hirotsugu Goto
- Department of Applied Physics, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijuku, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo 125-8585, Japan.
| | - Tomokazu Urakawa
- Department of Applied Physics, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijuku, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo 125-8585, Japan
| | - Yuna Maeda
- Department of Applied Physics, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijuku, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo 125-8585, Japan
| | - Yuki Kurita
- Department of Applied Physics, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijuku, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo 125-8585, Japan
| | - Osamu Araki
- Department of Applied Physics, Tokyo University of Science, 6-3-1 Niijuku, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo 125-8585, Japan
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2
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Alais D, Coorey J, Blake R, Davidson MJ. A new 'CFS tracking' paradigm reveals uniform suppression depth regardless of target complexity or salience. eLife 2024; 12:RP91019. [PMID: 38682887 PMCID: PMC11057872 DOI: 10.7554/elife.91019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/01/2024] Open
Abstract
When the eyes view separate and incompatible images, the brain suppresses one image and promotes the other into visual awareness. Periods of interocular suppression can be prolonged during continuous flash suppression (CFS) - when one eye views a static 'target' while the other views a complex dynamic stimulus. Measuring the time needed for a suppressed image to break CFS (bCFS) has been widely used to investigate unconscious processing, and the results have generated controversy regarding the scope of visual processing without awareness. Here, we address this controversy with a new 'CFS tracking' paradigm (tCFS) in which the suppressed monocular target steadily increases in contrast until breaking into awareness (as in bCFS) after which it decreases until it again disappears (reCFS), with this cycle continuing for many reversals. Unlike bCFS, tCFS provides a measure of suppression depth by quantifying the difference between breakthrough and suppression thresholds. tCFS confirms that (i) breakthrough thresholds indeed differ across target types (e.g. faces vs gratings, as bCFS has shown) - but (ii) suppression depth does not vary across target types. Once the breakthrough contrast is reached for a given stimulus, all stimuli require a strikingly uniform reduction in contrast to reach the corresponding suppression threshold. This uniform suppression depth points to a single mechanism of CFS suppression, one that likely occurs early in visual processing because suppression depth was not modulated by target salience or complexity. More fundamentally, it shows that variations in bCFS thresholds alone are insufficient for inferring whether the barrier to achieving awareness exerted by interocular suppression is weaker for some categories of visual stimuli compared to others.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Alais
- School of Psychology, The University of SydneySydneyAustralia
| | - Jacob Coorey
- School of Psychology, The University of SydneySydneyAustralia
| | - Randolph Blake
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt UniversityNashvilleUnited States
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3
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Sousa T, Sayal A, Duarte JV, Costa GN, Castelo-Branco M. A human cortical adaptive mutual inhibition circuit underlying competition for perceptual decision and repetition suppression reversal. Neuroimage 2024; 285:120488. [PMID: 38065278 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024] Open
Abstract
A model based on inhibitory coupling has been proposed to explain perceptual oscillations. This 'adapting reciprocal inhibition' model postulates that it is the strength of inhibitory coupling that determines the fate of competition between percepts. Here, we used an fMRI-based adaptation technique to reveal the influence of neighboring neuronal populations, such as reciprocal inhibition, in motion-selective hMT+/V5. If reciprocal inhibition exists in this region, the following predictions should hold: 1. stimulus-driven response would not simply decrease, as predicted by simple repetition-suppression of neuronal populations, but instead, increase due to the activity from adjacent populations; 2. perceptual decision involving competing representations, should reflect decreased reciprocal inhibition by adaptation; 3. neural activity for the competing percept should also later on increase upon adaptation. Our results confirm these three predictions, showing that a model of perceptual decision based on adapting reciprocal inhibition holds true. Finally, they also show that the net effect of the well-known repetition suppression phenomenon can be reversed by this mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa Sousa
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Portugal; Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Alexandre Sayal
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Portugal; Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Portugal; Siemens Healthineers, Portugal
| | - João V Duarte
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Portugal; Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Portugal; Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Gabriel N Costa
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Portugal; Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Portugal; Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Portugal; Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal; Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Maastricht, the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
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4
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Nie S, Katyal S, Engel SA. An Accumulating Neural Signal Underlying Binocular Rivalry Dynamics. J Neurosci 2023; 43:8777-8784. [PMID: 37907256 PMCID: PMC10727184 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1325-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023] Open
Abstract
During binocular rivalry, conflicting images are presented one to each eye and perception alternates stochastically between them. Despite stable percepts between alternations, modeling suggests that neural signals representing the two images change gradually, and that the duration of stable percepts are determined by the time required for these signals to reach a threshold that triggers an alternation. However, direct physiological evidence for such signals has been lacking. Here, we identify a neural signal in the human visual cortex that shows these predicted properties. We measured steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) in 84 human participants (62 females, 22 males) who were presented with orthogonal gratings, one to each eye, flickering at different frequencies. Participants indicated their percept while EEG data were collected. The time courses of the SSVEP amplitudes at the two frequencies were then compared across different percept durations, within participants. For all durations, the amplitude of signals corresponding to the suppressed stimulus increased and the amplitude corresponding to the dominant stimulus decreased throughout the percept. Critically, longer percepts were characterized by more gradual increases in the suppressed signal and more gradual decreases of the dominant signal. Changes in signals were similar and rapid at the end of all percepts, presumably reflecting perceptual transitions. These features of the SSVEP time courses are well predicted by a model in which perceptual transitions are produced by the accumulation of noisy signals. Identification of this signal underlying binocular rivalry should allow strong tests of neural models of rivalry, bistable perception, and neural suppression.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT During binocular rivalry, two conflicting images are presented to the two eyes and perception alternates between them, with switches occurring at seemingly random times. Rivalry is an important and longstanding model system in neuroscience, used for understanding neural suppression, intrinsic neural dynamics, and even the neural correlates of consciousness. All models of rivalry propose that it depends on gradually changing neural activity that on reaching some threshold triggers the perceptual switches. This manuscript reports the first physiological measurement of neural signals with that set of properties in human participants. The signals, measured with EEG in human observers, closely match the predictions of recent models of rivalry, and should pave the way for much future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaozhi Nie
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
| | - Sucharit Katyal
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, WC1B 5EH, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen A Engel
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
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5
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Jiang R, Meng M. Integration and suppression interact in binocular vision. J Vis 2023; 23:17. [PMID: 37750747 PMCID: PMC10541237 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.10.17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Contingent on stereo compatibility, two images presented dichoptically can lead to either binocular integration, thus generating stable stereopsis, or interocular suppression that induces binocular rivalry with bistable perception that alternates between the two images. The relationship between binocular integration and interocular suppression concerns how our brain processes binocular inputs to form unified visual awareness but remains unclear. Here, a series of psychophysical experiments were conducted to address this question, revealing that these collaborative and competitive binocular interactions are interconnected and would mediate one another according to their strength. Specifically, Experiments 1a and 1b showed that the presence of binocular rivalry inhibited peripheral stereopsis, significantly elevating the stereo threshold, with higher elevation resulting from increasing rivalry contrast. Experiments 2a and 2b showed that existing stereopsis with increasing binocular disparity balanced the dynamics of peripheral binocular rivalry, rendering more equivalent eye dominance. Based on these interactions, we suggest that binocular integration and interocular suppression may mediate one another through an overlapping mechanism for regulating eye dominance, with strong stereo percepts tending to reduce eye dominance and strong rivalry tending to increase eye dominance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong Jiang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China
| | - Ming Meng
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, China
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
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6
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Cravo MI, Bernardes R, Castelo-Branco M. Subtractive adaptation is a more effective and general mechanism in binocular rivalry than divisive adaptation. J Vis 2023; 23:18. [PMID: 37505915 PMCID: PMC10405863 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.7.18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The activity of neurons is influenced by random fluctuations and can be strongly modulated by firing rate adaptation, particularly in sensory systems. Still, there is ongoing debate about the characteristics of neuronal noise and the mechanisms of adaptation, and even less is known about how exactly they affect perception. Noise and adaptation are critical in binocular rivalry, a visual phenomenon where two images compete for perceptual dominance. Here, we investigated the effects of different noise processes and adaptation mechanisms on visual perception by simulating a model of binocular rivalry with Gaussian white noise, Ornstein-Uhlenbeck noise, and pink noise, in variants with divisive adaptation, subtractive adaptation, and without adaptation. By simulating the nine models in parameter space, we find that white noise only produces rivalry when paired with subtractive adaptation and that subtractive adaptation reduces the influence of noise intensity on rivalry strength and introduces convergence of the mean percept duration, an important metric of binocular rivalry, across all noise processes. In sum, our results show that white noise is an insufficient description of background activity in the brain and that subtractive adaptation is a stronger and more general switching mechanism in binocular rivalry than divisive adaptation, with important noise-filtering properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Inês Cravo
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Rui Bernardes
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Miguel Castelo-Branco
- Coimbra Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Translational Research (CIBIT), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Institute of Nuclear Sciences Applied to Health (ICNAS), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Brain Imaging Network of Portugal, Portugal
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7
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Serero G, Lev M, Polat U. Meridional binocular rivalry reveals a trace of uncorrected oblique input during development in the adult brain. Sci Rep 2023; 13:9920. [PMID: 37336936 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-35814-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Binocular rivalry (BR) is a visual perception phenomenon that occurs when each eye perceives different images and stimuli, causing alternating monocular dominance. To measure BR, many studies have used two monocular conflicting images to induce monocular alternations. Here we chose a group of participants with oblique astigmatism (OA) and who produced blur on the orthogonal oblique meridian in each eye, resulting in two conflicting images, which may enhance the stimulation of monocular alternations. Our results show that OA participants tend to have a high rate of BR when viewing natural images, whereas the control group does not have BR for the same images. We suggest that this low ability to fuse could indicate the presence of a trace due to uncorrected vision during the critical period, which could be retained in the adult brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gad Serero
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, Mina and Everard Goodman, Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Maria Lev
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, Mina and Everard Goodman, Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Uri Polat
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, Mina and Everard Goodman, Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
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8
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Kurita Y, Urakawa T, Araki O. Theta phase coherence in visual mismatch responses involved in access processing to visual awareness. Front Hum Neurosci 2023; 17:1051844. [PMID: 36908709 PMCID: PMC9995375 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2023.1051844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: The electroencephalographic brain response to a deviation from the preceding sequential regularity of visual events, called visual mismatch negativity (vMMN), is well known to reflect automatic visual change detection. Our preliminary study showed a significant correlation between the enhancement of the vMMN amplitude and facilitation of perceptual alternation in binocular rivalry when the deviant stimulus was presented unconsciously. This implies that the vMMN is relevant to access processing, in which the unconscious stimulus is consciously perceived. Recent studies have reported that theta band oscillation evoked by a deviant stimulus is involved in evoking vMMN. However, it has not been clarified whether theta band oscillation associated with vMMN is also relevant to access processing. Methods: We analyzed the correlations between event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) and inter-trial phase coherence (ITPC) in the theta band and the proportion of perceptual alternation from before to after the presentation of deviation in the same experimental paradigm as in our previous study. Results: We found that an increase in ITPC in the theta band tended to correlate with facilitation of perceptual alternation in binocular rivalry when the deviant was presented unconsciously, but there was no significant correlation in ERSP. Discussion: The results suggest that theta phase coherence underlying the visual mismatch process is relevant to the access processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Kurita
- Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tomokazu Urakawa
- Integrated Control System Development Division, Mazda Motor Corporation, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Osamu Araki
- Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan
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9
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Acquafredda M, Binda P, Lunghi C. Attention cueing in rivalry: insights from pupillometry. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0497-21.2022. [PMID: 35667847 PMCID: PMC9224166 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0497-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
We used pupillometry to evaluate the effects of attention cueing on perceptual bi-stability, as reported by adult human observers. Perceptual alternations and pupil diameter were measured during two forms of rivalry, generated by presenting a white and a black disk to the two eyes (binocular rivalry) or splitting the disks between eyes (interocular grouping rivalry). In line with previous studies, we found that subtle pupil size modulations (about 0.05 mm) tracked alternations between exclusive dominance phases of the black or white disk. These pupil responses were larger for perceptually stronger stimuli: presented to the dominant eye or with physically higher luminance contrast. However, cueing of endogenous attention to one of the rivaling percepts did not affect pupil modulations during exclusive dominance phases. This was observed despite the reliable effects of endogenous attention on perceptual dominance, which shifted in favor of the cued percept by about 10%. The results were comparable for binocular and interocular grouping rivalry. Cueing only had a marginal modulatory effect on pupil size during mixed percepts in binocular rivalry. This may suggest that, rather than acting by modulating perceptual strength, endogenous attention primarily acts during periods of unresolved competition, which is compatible with attention being automatically directed to the rivaling stimuli during periods of exclusive dominance and thereby sustaining perceptual alternations.Significance StatementBinocular rivalry depends on attention. When it is diverted away from the stimuli, perceptual alternations slow down; when it is preferentially directed to one stimulus, perception lingers more on it, consistent with attention enhancing the effective strength of the rivaling stimuli. Here we introduce pupillometry as a means to indirectly track changes in effective stimulus strength. We find that pupil size accurately tracks perceived luminance during two forms of rivalry: binocular rivalry and interocular grouping rivalry. Both show robust effects of attention cueing on perceptual dominance, but pupil modulations during exclusive dominance are unaffected by cueing. This suggests that endogenous attention does not affect perceptual strength during exclusive dominance, though it might do so during transition phases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Acquafredda
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Italy
| | - Paola Binda
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Italy
| | - Claudia Lunghi
- Laboratoire des systèmes perceptifs, Département d'études cognitives, École normale supérieure, PSL University, CNRS, 75005 Paris, France
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10
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Vestibular and active self-motion signals drive visual perception in binocular rivalry. iScience 2021; 24:103417. [PMID: 34877486 PMCID: PMC8632839 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Multisensory integration helps the brain build reliable models of the world and resolve ambiguities. Visual interactions with sound and touch are well established but vestibular influences on vision are less well studied. Here, we test the vestibular influence on vision using horizontally opposed motions presented one to each eye so that visual perception is unstable and alternates irregularly. Passive, whole-body rotations in the yaw plane stabilized visual alternations, with perceived direction oscillating congruently with rotation (leftward motion during leftward rotation, and vice versa). This demonstrates a purely vestibular signal can resolve ambiguous visual motion and determine visual perception. Active self-rotation following the same sinusoidal profile also entrained vision to the rotation cycle – more strongly and with a lesser time lag, likely because of efference copy and predictive internal models. Both experiments show that visual ambiguity provides an effective paradigm to reveal how vestibular and motor inputs can shape visual perception. Binocular rivalry between left/right motions is stabilized by congruent head movement Left/right head rotations entrain rivalry dynamics so matching direction is perceived Active and passive rotations both drive rivalry dominance to match rotation direction Resolving ambiguous vision occurs in a broader vestibular and action-based context
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11
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Drew A, Torralba M, Ruzzoli M, Morís Fernández L, Sabaté A, Pápai MS, Soto-Faraco S. Conflict monitoring and attentional adjustment during binocular rivalry. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 55:138-153. [PMID: 34872157 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 11/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
To make sense of ambiguous and, at times, fragmentary sensory input, the brain must rely on a process of active interpretation. At any given moment, only one of several possible perceptual representations prevails in our conscious experience. Our hypothesis is that the competition between alternative representations induces a pattern of neural activation resembling cognitive conflict, eventually leading to fluctuations between different perceptual outcomes in the case of steep competition. To test this hypothesis, we probed changes in perceptual awareness between competing images using binocular rivalry. We drew our predictions from the conflict monitoring theory, which holds that cognitive control is invoked by the detection of conflict during information processing. Our results show that fronto-medial theta oscillations (5-7 Hz), an established electroencephalography (EEG) marker of conflict, increases right before perceptual alternations and decreases thereafter, suggesting that conflict monitoring occurs during perceptual competition. Furthermore, to investigate conflict resolution via attentional engagement, we looked for a neural marker of perceptual switches as by parieto-occipital alpha oscillations (8-12 Hz). The power of parieto-occipital alpha displayed an inverse pattern to that of fronto-medial theta, reflecting periods of high interocular inhibition during stable perception, and low inhibition around moments of perceptual change. Our findings aim to elucidate the relationship between conflict monitoring mechanisms and perceptual awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Drew
- Multisensory Research Group, Centre for Brain and Cognition, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mireia Torralba
- Multisensory Research Group, Centre for Brain and Cognition, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Manuela Ruzzoli
- Multisensory Research Group, Centre for Brain and Cognition, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.,BCBL, Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain.,Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Luis Morís Fernández
- Multisensory Research Group, Centre for Brain and Cognition, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.,Departamento de Psicología Básica, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Alba Sabaté
- Multisensory Research Group, Centre for Brain and Cognition, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Márta Szabina Pápai
- Multisensory Research Group, Centre for Brain and Cognition, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Salvador Soto-Faraco
- Multisensory Research Group, Centre for Brain and Cognition, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.,Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona, Spain
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12
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Kurita Y, Urakawa T, Araki O. Involvement of Visual Mismatch Negativity in Access Processing to Visual Awareness. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:757411. [PMID: 34803638 PMCID: PMC8603928 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.757411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychophysiological studies with electroencephalography, focusing on the dynamical aspect of neural correlate of consciousness, reported that visual awareness negativity and P3 enhancement are observed at a latency, 200–300 ms after the visual stimulus onset, when the visual stimulus is consciously perceived. However, access processing to visual awareness (APVA) immediately before conscious perception still remains at the earlier stage of visual sensory processing, though there is little known regarding this subject. The present study hypothesized that visual mismatch negativity (vMMN), which reflects automatic change detection at a latency of 130–250 ms, might be involved in the APVA. In a previous study, vMMN was reported to be evoked by the deviant stimulus that is not consciously perceived in binocular rivalry. To clarify whether the visual change detection affects APVA, we conducted a modified experiment of oddball paradigm on binocular rivalry. The results showed a significant correlation between enhancement of vMMN amplitude and facilitation of perceptual alternation when the unconscious deviant was presented. This implies that vMMN is relevant to the APVA, which is a novel role of vMMN. In early visual processing, the attentional mechanism associated with vMMN is suggested to play an important role in unconscious neural processing at an earlier stage of visual awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Kurita
- Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tomokazu Urakawa
- Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Osamu Araki
- Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, Tokyo, Japan
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13
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Baker DH, Vilidaite G, Wade AR. Steady-state measures of visual suppression. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009507. [PMID: 34644292 PMCID: PMC8544832 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
In the early visual system, suppression occurs between neurons representing different stimulus properties. This includes features such as orientation (cross-orientation suppression), eye-of-origin (interocular suppression) and spatial location (surround suppression), which are thought to involve distinct anatomical pathways. We asked if these separate routes to suppression can be differentiated by their pattern of gain control on the contrast response function measured in human participants using steady-state electroencephalography. Changes in contrast gain shift the contrast response function laterally, whereas changes in response gain scale the function vertically. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to summarise the evidence for each type of gain control. A computational meta-analysis of 16 previous studies found the most evidence for contrast gain effects with overlaid masks, but no clear evidence favouring either response gain or contrast gain for other mask types. We then conducted two new experiments, comparing suppression from four mask types (monocular and dichoptic overlay masks, and aligned and orthogonal surround masks) on responses to sine wave grating patches flickering at 5Hz. At the occipital pole, there was strong evidence for contrast gain effects in all four mask types at the first harmonic frequency (5Hz). Suppression generally became stronger at more lateral electrode sites, but there was little evidence of response gain effects. At the second harmonic frequency (10Hz) suppression was stronger overall, and involved both contrast and response gain effects. Although suppression from different mask types involves distinct anatomical pathways, gain control processes appear to serve a common purpose, which we suggest might be to suppress less reliable inputs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel H. Baker
- Department of Psychology and York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Greta Vilidaite
- School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Alex R. Wade
- Department of Psychology and York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, York, United Kingdom
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14
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Kleiner J, Hoel E. Falsification and consciousness. Neurosci Conscious 2021; 2021:niab001. [PMID: 33889423 PMCID: PMC8052953 DOI: 10.1093/nc/niab001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Revised: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The search for a scientific theory of consciousness should result in theories that are falsifiable. However, here we show that falsification is especially problematic for theories of consciousness. We formally describe the standard experimental setup for testing these theories. Based on a theory's application to some physical system, such as the brain, testing requires comparing a theory's predicted experience (given some internal observables of the system like brain imaging data) with an inferred experience (using report or behavior). If there is a mismatch between inference and prediction, a theory is falsified. We show that if inference and prediction are independent, it follows that any minimally informative theory of consciousness is automatically falsified. This is deeply problematic since the field's reliance on report or behavior to infer conscious experiences implies such independence, so this fragility affects many contemporary theories of consciousness. Furthermore, we show that if inference and prediction are strictly dependent, it follows that a theory is unfalsifiable. This affects theories which claim consciousness to be determined by report or behavior. Finally, we explore possible ways out of this dilemma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Kleiner
- Munich Center for Mathematical Philosophy, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany
| | - Erik Hoel
- Allen Discovery Center, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
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15
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Dynamics of a Mutual Inhibition Circuit between Pyramidal Neurons Compared to Human Perceptual Competition. J Neurosci 2021; 41:1251-1264. [PMID: 33443089 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2503-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Revised: 11/16/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural competition plays an essential role in active selection processes of noisy and ambiguous input signals, and it is assumed to underlie emergent properties of brain functioning, such as perceptual organization and decision-making. Despite ample theoretical research on neural competition, experimental tools to allow neurophysiological investigation of competing neurons have not been available. We developed a "hybrid" system where real-life neurons and a computer-simulated neural circuit interacted. It enabled us to construct a mutual inhibition circuit between two real-life pyramidal neurons. We then asked what dynamics this minimal unit of neural competition exhibits and compared them with the known behavioral-level dynamics of neural competition. We found that the pair of neurons shows bistability when activated simultaneously by current injections. The addition of modeled synaptic noise and changes in the activation strength showed that the dynamics of the circuit are strikingly similar to the known properties of bistable visual perception: The distribution of dominance durations showed a right-skewed shape, and the changes of the activation strengths caused changes in dominance, dominance durations, and reversal rates as stated in the well-known empirical laws of bistable perception known as Levelt's propositions.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Visual perception emerges as the result of neural systems actively organizing visual signals that involves selection processes of competing neurons. While the neural competition, realized by a "mutual inhibition" circuit has been examined in many theoretical studies, its properties have not been investigated in real neurons. We have developed a "hybrid" system where two real-life pyramidal neurons in a mouse brain slice interact through a computer-simulated mutual inhibition circuit. We found that simultaneous activation of the neurons leads to bistable activity. We investigated the effect of noise and the effect of changes in the activation strength on the dynamics. We observed that the pair of neurons exhibit dynamics strikingly similar to the known properties of bistable visual perception.
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16
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Carter O, van Swinderen B, Leopold DA, Collin S, Maier A. Perceptual rivalry across animal species. J Comp Neurol 2020; 528:3123-3133. [PMID: 32361986 PMCID: PMC7541519 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2020] [Revised: 04/18/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
This review in memoriam of Jack Pettigrew provides an overview of past and current research into the phenomenon of multistable perception across multiple animal species. Multistable perception is characterized by two or more perceptual interpretations spontaneously alternating, or rivaling, when animals are exposed to stimuli with inherent sensory ambiguity. There is a wide array of ambiguous stimuli across sensory modalities, ranging from the configural changes observed in simple line drawings, such as the famous Necker cube, to the alternating perception of entire visual scenes that can be instigated by interocular conflict. The latter phenomenon, called binocular rivalry, in particular caught the attention of the late Jack Pettigrew, who combined his interest in the neuronal basis of perception with a unique comparative biological approach that considered ambiguous sensation as a fundamental problem of sensory systems that has shaped the brain throughout evolution. Here, we examine the research findings on visual perceptual alternation and suppression in a wide variety of species including insects, fish, reptiles, and primates. We highlight several interesting commonalities across species and behavioral indicators of perceptual alternation. In addition, we show how the comparative approach provides new avenues for understanding how the brain suppresses opposing sensory signals and generates alternations in perceptual dominance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Carter
- Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, AUS
| | | | | | - Shaun Collin
- School of Life Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, AUS
| | - Alex Maier
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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17
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Age-dependency in binocular rivalry is reflected by exclusive percepts, not mixed percepts. Sci Rep 2019; 9:19271. [PMID: 31848422 PMCID: PMC6917811 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-55890-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Some aspects of decision-making are known to decline with normal aging. One of the known perceptual decision-making processes which is vastly studied is binocular rivalry. It is well-established that the older the person, the slower the perceptual dynamics. However, the underlying neurobiological cause is unknown. So, to understand how age affects visual decision-making, we investigated age-related changes in perception during binocular rivalry. In binocular rivalry, the image presented to one eye competes for perceptual dominance with the image presented to the other eye. Perception during binocular rivalry consists of alternations between exclusive percepts. However, frequently, mixed percepts with combinations of the two monocular images occur. The mixed percepts reflect a transition from the percept of one eye to the other but frequently the transitions do not complete the full cycle and the previous exclusive percept becomes dominant again. The transitional idiosyncrasy of mixed percepts has not been studied systematically in different age groups. Previously, we have found evidence for adaptation and noise, and not inhibition, as underlying neural factors that are related to age-dependent perceptual decisions. Based on those conclusions, we predict that mixed percepts/inhibitory interactions should not change with aging. Therefore, in an old and a young age group, we studied binocular rivalry dynamics considering both exclusive and mixed percepts by using two paradigms: percept-choice and percept-switch. We found a decrease in perceptual alternation Probability for older adults, although the rate of mixed percepts did not differ significantly compared to younger adults. Interestingly, the mixed percepts play a very similar transitional idiosyncrasy in our different age groups. Further analyses suggest that differences in synaptic depression, gain modulation at the input level, and/or slower execution of motor commands are not the determining factors to explain these findings. We then argue that changes in perceptual decisions at an older age are the result of changes in neural adaptation and noise.
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18
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Menceloglu M, Grabowecky M, Suzuki S. Neural, functional, and aesthetic impacts of spatially heterogeneous flicker: A potential role of natural flicker. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0219107. [PMID: 31671141 PMCID: PMC6822740 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0219107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Accepted: 09/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatially heterogeneous flicker, characterized by probabilistic and locally independent luminance modulations, abounds in nature. It is generated by flames, water surfaces, rustling leaves, and so on, and it is pleasant to the senses. It affords spatiotemporal multistability that allows sensory activation conforming to the biases of the visual system, thereby generating the perception of spontaneous motion and likely facilitating the calibration of motion detectors. One may thus hypothesize that spatially heterogeneous flicker might potentially provide restoring stimuli to the visual system that engage fluent (requiring minimal top-down control) and self-calibrating processes. Here, we present some converging behavioral and electrophysiological evidence consistent with this idea. Spatially heterogeneous (multistable) flicker (relative to controls matched in temporal statistics) reduced posterior EEG (electroencephalography) beta power implicated in long-range neural interactions that impose top-down influences on sensory processing. Further, the degree of spatiotemporal multistability, the amount of posterior beta-power reduction, and the aesthetic responses to flicker were closely associated. These results are consistent with the idea that the pleasantness of natural flicker may derive from its spatiotemporal multistability that affords fluent and self-calibrating visual processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melisa Menceloglu
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Marcia Grabowecky
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Satoru Suzuki
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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19
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Individual variation in inter-ocular suppression and sensory eye dominance. Vision Res 2019; 163:33-41. [PMID: 31374237 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2019.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Revised: 07/10/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The competitive and inhibitory interactions between the two eyes' images are a pervasive aspect of binocular vision. Over the last decade, our understanding of the neural processes underpinning binocular rivalry (BR) and continuous flash suppression (CFS) has increased substantially, but we still have little understanding of the relationship between these two effects and their variation in the general population. Studies that pool data across individuals and eyes risk masking substantial variations in binocular vision that exist in the general population. To investigate this issue we compared the depth of inter-ocular suppression evoked by BR with that elicited by CFS, in a group (N = 25) of visually normal individuals. A noise pattern (either static for BR or dynamic for CFS) was presented to one eye and its suppressive influence on a probe grating presented simultaneously to the other eye was measured. We found substantial individual differences in the magnitude of suppression (a 10-fold variation in probe detection threshold) evoked by each task, but performance on BR was a significant predictor of performance on the CFS task. However many individuals showed marked asymmetries between the two eyes' ability to detect a suppressed target, that were not necessarily the same for the two tasks. There was a tendency for the magnitude of the asymmetry to increase as the refresh rate of the dynamic noise increased. The results suggest a common underlying mechanism is likely to be responsible, at least in part, for driving inter-ocular suppression under BR and CFS. The marked asymmetries in inter-ocular suppression at higher noise refresh rates, may be indicative of a difference in temporal processing between the eyes.
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20
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Wang LC, Liu D, Xu Z. Distinct effects of visual and auditory temporal processing training on reading and reading-related abilities in Chinese children with dyslexia. ANNALS OF DYSLEXIA 2019; 69:166-185. [PMID: 30671864 DOI: 10.1007/s11881-019-00176-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Accepted: 01/04/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the effects of temporal processing training on the reading abilities of Chinese children with dyslexia. In total, 69 Chinese children with dyslexia in grades three through six were recruited in Taiwan. The children were divided into the following three equal groups: (1) auditory temporal processing training group, (2) visual temporal processing training group, and (3) control group with no specific training. The participants in both training groups received instruction with identical durations (30-40 min), intensities (12 times in total), and frequencies (three to four times per week). The participants in the control group were asked to independently surf some specified websites using devices similar to those used by the two experimental groups for an identical duration, intensity, and frequency. Our results indicated that the two groups who received temporal processing training exhibited significant correlations among Chinese character reading, rapid naming, and corresponding reading-related abilities, while visual temporal processing served as a significant predictor of Chinese character reading ability even if all background data, reading-related abilities, and auditory temporal processing were introduced first. Additionally, significant interactions were found between the Groups and Tested sessions in all the measures, except for phonological awareness, confirming the distinct effects of different temporal processing on most measures involved in this study. Further simple main effects revealed that only those who received the visual temporal processing training gained benefits in the corresponding reading-related ability (i.e., orthographic knowledge) and far-transfer to Chinese character reading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Chih Wang
- Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
- Integrated Centre for Wellbeing, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Duo Liu
- Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- Integrated Centre for Wellbeing, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Zhengye Xu
- Department of Special Education and Counselling, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
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21
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Baker DH, Richard B. Dynamic properties of internal noise probed by modulating binocular rivalry. PLoS Comput Biol 2019; 15:e1007071. [PMID: 31170150 PMCID: PMC6553697 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural systems are inherently noisy, and this noise can affect our perception from moment to moment. This is particularly apparent in binocular rivalry, where perception of competing stimuli shown to the left and right eyes alternates over time. We modulated rivalling stimuli using dynamic sequences of external noise of various rates and amplitudes. We repeated each external noise sequence twice, and assessed the consistency of percepts across repetitions. External noise modulations of sufficiently high contrast increased consistency scores above baseline, and were most effective at 1/8Hz. A computational model of rivalry in which internal noise has a 1/f (pink) temporal amplitude spectrum, and a standard deviation of 16% contrast, provided the best account of our data. Our novel technique provides detailed estimates of the dynamic properties of internal noise during binocular rivalry, and by extension the stochastic processes that drive our perception and other types of spontaneous brain activity. Although our perception of the world appears constant, sensory representations are variable because of the ‘noisy’ nature of biological neurons. Here we used a binocular rivalry paradigm, in which conflicting images are shown to the two eyes, to probe the properties of this internal variability. Using a novel paradigm in which the contrasts of rivalling stimuli are modulated by two independent external noise streams, we infer the amplitude and character of this internal noise. The temporal amplitude spectrum of the noise has a 1/f spectrum, similar to that of natural visual input, and consistent with the idea that the visual system evolved to match its environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel H. Baker
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York, United Kingdom
- York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, Heslington, York, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Bruno Richard
- Department of Psychology, University of York, Heslington, York, United Kingdom
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Rutgers University–Newark, Newark, New Jersey, United States of America
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22
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Thakkar KN, Antinori A, Carter OL, Brascamp JW. Altered short-term neural plasticity related to schizotypal traits: Evidence from visual adaptation. Schizophr Res 2019; 207:48-57. [PMID: 29685421 PMCID: PMC6195854 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2018.04.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Abnormalities in synaptic plasticity are argued to underlie the neural dysconnectivity observed in schizophrenia. One way to measure synaptic plasticity is through sensory adaptation, whereby sensory neurons exhibit reduced sensitivity after sustained stimulus exposure. Evidence for decreased adaptation in individuals with schizophrenia is currently inconclusive, possibly due to heterogeneity in clinical and medication status across samples. Here we circumvent these confounds by examining whether altered adaptation is represented sub-clinically in the general population. To test this we used three paradigms from visual perception research that provide a precise and non-invasive index of adaptation in the visual system. Two paradigms involve a class of illusory percepts termed visual aftereffects. The third relies on a visual phenomenon termed binocular rivalry, where incompatible stimuli are presented to the two eyes and observers alternate between perceiving exclusively one stimulus or a combination of the two (i.e. mixed perception). We analyzed the strength and dynamics of visual adaptation in these paradigms, in relation to schizotypy. Our results showed that increased schizotypal traits were related to reduced orientation, but not luminance, aftereffect strength (Exp. 1). Further, increased schizotypy was related to a greater proportion of mixed perception during binocular rivalry (Exp. 1 and 2). Given that visual adaption is well understood at cellular and computational levels, our data suggest that short-term plasticity in the visual system can provide important information about the disease mechanisms of schizophrenia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharine N. Thakkar
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States,Division of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Michigan State University, Grand Rapids, MI, United States,Corresponding author at: 316 Physics Road, Room 110C, East Lansing, MI 48824, United States. (K.N. Thakkar)
| | - Anna Antinori
- Melbourne School of Psychological Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Olivia L. Carter
- Melbourne School of Psychological Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Jan W. Brascamp
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United States
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23
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Hupé JM, Signorelli CM, Alais D. Two paradigms of bistable plaid motion reveal independent mutual inhibition processes. J Vis 2019; 19:5. [PMID: 30943533 DOI: 10.1167/19.4.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Perception is sometimes bistable, switching between two possible interpretations. Levelt developed several propositions to explain bistable perception in binocular rivalry, based on a model of competing neural populations connected through reciprocal inhibition. Here we test Levelt's laws with bistable plaid motion. Plaids are typically tristable, either a coherent pattern, transparent with one component in front, or transparent with the opposite depth order. In Experiment 1, we use a large angle between component directions to prevent plaid coherence, limiting the ambiguity to alternations of grating depth order. Similar to increasing contrast in binocular rivalry, increasing component speed led to higher switch rates (analogous to Levelt's fourth proposition). In Experiment 2, we used occlusion cues to prevent one depth order and limit bistability to one transparent depth order alternating with coherence. Increasing grating speed shortened coherent motion periods but left transparent periods largely unchanged (analogous to Levelt's second proposition). Switch dynamics showed no correlation between the experiments. These data suggest that plaid component speed acts like contrast in binocular rivalry to vary switch dynamics through a mutual inhibition model. The lack of correlation between both experiments suggests reciprocal inhibition mediates bistability between a variety of neural populations across the visual system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Michel Hupé
- Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition, Université de Toulouse Paul Sabatier and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Toulouse, France
| | - Camilo Miguel Signorelli
- Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition, Université de Toulouse Paul Sabatier and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Toulouse, France.,Present addresses: Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM U992, NeuroSpin, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - David Alais
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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24
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Abstract
There is an ongoing debate whether or not multisensory interactions require awareness of the sensory signals. Static visual and tactile stimuli have been shown to influence each other even in the absence of visual awareness. However, it is unclear if this finding generalizes to dynamic contexts. In the present study, we presented visual and tactile motion stimuli and induced fluctuations of visual awareness by means of binocular rivalry: two gratings which drifted in opposite directions were displayed, one to each eye. One visual motion stimulus dominated and reached awareness while the other visual stimulus was suppressed from awareness. Tactile motion stimuli were presented at random time points during the visual stimulation. The motion direction of a tactile stimulus always matched the direction of one of the concurrently presented visual stimuli. The visual gratings were differently tinted, and participants reported the color of the currently seen stimulus. Tactile motion delayed perceptual switches that ended dominance periods of congruently moving visual stimuli compared to switches during visual-only stimulation. In addition, tactile motion fostered the return to dominance of suppressed, congruently moving visual stimuli, but only if the tactile motion started at a late stage of the ongoing visual suppression period. At later stages, perceptual suppression is typically decreasing. These results suggest that visual awareness facilitates but does not gate multisensory interactions between visual and tactile motion signals.
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25
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Continuous flash suppression operates in local spatial zones: Effects of mask size and contrast. Vision Res 2018; 154:105-114. [PMID: 30481527 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2018.11.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2018] [Revised: 11/02/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Continuous flash suppression (CFS) is a technique in which presenting one eye with a dynamic Mondrian sequence prevents a low-contrast target in the other eye from being perceived for many seconds. Frequently used to study unconscious visual processing, CFS bears many similarities with binocular rivalry (BR), another popular dichoptic stimulation technique. It is therefore puzzling that the effect of mask size and contrast seem to differ between CFS and BR. To resolve this discrepancy, we conducted a systematic investigation on the effects of mask size and contrast in CFS. Also, building on findings from BR, we asked if the collinearity of the contours in the Mondrian masker play a role in CFS suppression. Our results showed a robust effect of mask contrast on suppression durations, and an effect of mask size that depended on collinearity. Specifically, higher mask contrasts produced longer suppression regardless of collinearity and mask size. Mask size, on the other hand, had little effect on suppression when collinearity was low and it weakened suppression when collinearity is high. These observations parallel prior findings in BR, further substantiating the close link between the two paradigms and demonstrating the usefulness of a shared explanatory framework describing both phenomena.
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26
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Arani E, van Ee R, van Wezel R. Changes in low-level neural properties underlie age-dependent visual decision making. Sci Rep 2018; 8:10789. [PMID: 30018453 PMCID: PMC6050268 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-27398-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2018] [Accepted: 05/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Aging typically slows down cognitive processes, specifically those related to perceptual decisions. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these age-associated changes are still elusive. To address this, we studied the effect of aging on both perceptual and binocular rivalry in various presentation conditions. Two age groups of participants reported their spontaneous percept switches during continuous presentation and percept choices during intermittent presentation. We find no significant age effect on the mean and cumulative frequencies of percept switch durations under continuous presentation. However, the data show a significant age effect on coefficient of variation, ratio of standard deviation to mean of percept durations. Our results also reveal that the alternation rate for percept choices significantly declines at an older age under intermittent presentation. The latter effect is even more pronounced at shorter inter-stimulus durations. These results together with the predictions of existing neural models for bistable perception imply that age-dependency of visual perceptual decisions is caused by shifts in neural adaptation and noise, not by a change in inhibition strength. Thus, variation in the low-level neural properties, adaptation and noise, cause age-dependent properties in visual perceptual decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elahe Arani
- Biophysics Department, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Raymond van Ee
- Biophysics Department, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven University, BE-3000, Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Brain, Behavior and Cognition, Philips Research, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Richard van Wezel
- Biophysics Department, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525AJ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Biomedical Signal and Systems Group, MIRA Institute for Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands
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27
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Han S, Alais D. Battle of the Mondrians: Investigating the Role of Unpredictability in Continuous Flash Suppression. Iperception 2018; 9:2041669518792930. [PMID: 30151096 PMCID: PMC6108022 DOI: 10.1177/2041669518792930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Accepted: 07/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
In continuous flash suppression (CFS), a dynamic sequence of Mondrian patterns presented to one eye suppresses a static target in the other eye for several seconds at a time. Its effectiveness has been linked to low-level properties such as spatial frequency and orientation, but the role of higher order influences remains unstudied. Here, using a tracking paradigm, we asked if the spatial and temporal predictability of the Mondrian sequence affects CFS dynamics. Predictable temporal sequences were regularly updated every 100 ms or modulated sinusoidally in pixel luminance at 2 Hz. Unpredictable temporal sequences were irregularly updated or had stochastic pixel luminance changes across time. To vary spatial predictability, sequences were either updated with different Mondrian patterns or had a fixed spatial pattern. We found a modest effect of spatial uncertainty when the target modulation was low (0.125 Hz) but not temporal uncertainty, which had no significant effects regardless of target modulation. Similar results were obtained when we pitted the standard Mondrian sequence against sequences with a fixed spatial pattern and temporally low-pass filtered sequences in a binocular rivalry paradigm. Thus, not only was the effect of information predictability was modest and spatial, but it was also dependent on the presence of higher temporal frequencies. Together, the results demonstrate the significance of low-level properties in affecting CFS dynamics and the possible involvement of pattern structure masking in CFS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shui’Er Han
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - David Alais
- School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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28
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Cha O, Blake R, Chong SC. Composite binocular perception from dichoptic stimulus arrays with similar ensemble information. Sci Rep 2018; 8:8263. [PMID: 29844369 PMCID: PMC5973937 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26679-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
We view the world through laterally displaced eyes that generate two streams of image signals differing slightly in their perspectives of the visual scene. The brain derives three-dimensional structures from these two image streams by establishing binocular matches and computing image disparities between the two eyes' views. Since the binocular matching problem can have multiple, alternative solutions, vision relies on several strategies to determine the most probable matches. The current study investigated whether the visual system might utilize regularities among neighbouring features (feature ensembles) when confronting this problem. We hypothesized that binocular perception with unlikely, anomalous ensembles would indicate unsuccessful binocular matches. We made dichoptic stimulus arrays of coloured circles and manipulated the colour similarity of stimulus items to produce probable or unusual ensembles when superimposed. Using binocular rivalry as a proxy index, we found that composite perception of dichoptic arrays was more stable when the stimulus items shared similar colours, and that unusual ensembles induced binocular rivalry. Our results suggest that binocular ensembles can be utilized to detect unsuccessful binocular matches, thus uncovering a potentially useful supplemental strategy for identifying binocular matches when viewing potentially confusing visual scenes containing redundant visual features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oakyoon Cha
- Graduate Program in Cognitive Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Korea
| | - Randolph Blake
- Department of Psychology and Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
| | - Sang Chul Chong
- Graduate Program in Cognitive Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Korea.
- Department of Psychology, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Korea.
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Wu Q, Li H, Meng F, Ngan KN. A Perceptually Weighted Rank Correlation Indicator for Objective Image Quality Assessment. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON IMAGE PROCESSING : A PUBLICATION OF THE IEEE SIGNAL PROCESSING SOCIETY 2018; 27:2499-2513. [PMID: 29994353 DOI: 10.1109/tip.2018.2799331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In the field of objective image quality assessment (IQA), Spearman's ρ and Kendall's τ, which straightforwardly assign uniform weights to all quality levels and assume that each pair of images is sortable, are the two most popular rank correlation indicators. These indicators can successfully measure the average accuracy of an IQA metric for ranking multiple processed images. However, two important perceptual properties are ignored. First, the sorting accuracy (SA) of high-quality images is usually more important than that of poor-quality images in many real-world applications, where only top-ranked images are pushed to the users. Second, due to the subjective uncertainty in making judgments, two perceptually similar images are usually barely sortable, and their ranks do not contribute to the evaluation of an IQA metric. To more accurately compare different IQA algorithms, in this paper, we explore a perceptually weighted rank correlation indicator, which rewards the capability of correctly ranking high-quality images and suppresses the attention towards insensitive rank mistakes. Specifically, we focus on activating a 'valid' pairwise comparison of images whose quality difference exceeds a given sensory threshold (ST). Meanwhile, each image pair is assigned a unique weight that is determined by both the quality level and rank deviation. By modifying the perception threshold, we can illustrate the sorting accuracy with a sophisticated SA-ST curve rather than a single rank correlation coefficient. The proposed indicator offers new insight into interpreting visual perception behavior. Furthermore, the applicability of our indicator is validated for recommending robust IQA metrics for both degraded and enhanced image data.
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30
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Jack BN, Roeber U, O’Shea RP. Do early neural correlates of visual consciousness show the oblique effect? A binocular rivalry and event-related potential study. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0188979. [PMID: 29232704 PMCID: PMC5726736 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0188979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2017] [Accepted: 11/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
When dissimilar images are presented one to each eye, we do not see both images; rather, we see one at a time, alternating unpredictably. This is called binocular rivalry, and it has recently been used to study brain processes that correlate with visual consciousness, because perception changes without any change in the sensory input. Such studies have used various types of images, but the most popular have been gratings: sets of bright and dark lines of orthogonal orientations presented one to each eye. We studied whether using cardinal rival gratings (vertical, 0°, and horizontal, 90°) versus oblique rival gratings (left-oblique, -45°, and right-oblique, 45°) influences early neural correlates of visual consciousness, because of the oblique effect: the tendency for visual performance to be greater for cardinal gratings than for oblique gratings. Participants viewed rival gratings and pressed keys indicating which of the two gratings they perceived, was dominant. Next, we changed one of the gratings to match the grating shown to the other eye, yielding binocular fusion. Participants perceived the rivalry-to-fusion change to the dominant grating and not to the other, suppressed grating. Using event-related potentials (ERPs), we found neural correlates of visual consciousness at the P1 for both sets of gratings, as well as at the P1-N1 for oblique gratings, and we found a neural correlate of the oblique effect at the N1, but only for perceived changes. These results show that the P1 is the earliest neural activity associated with visual consciousness and that visual consciousness might be necessary to elicit the oblique effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley N. Jack
- Discipline of Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, Australia
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Urte Roeber
- Discipline of Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, Australia
- Institute for Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Discipline of Biomedical Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
- School of Psychology and Exercise Science, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
| | - Robert P. O’Shea
- Discipline of Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, Australia
- Institute for Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Psychology and Exercise Science, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
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31
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Brascamp J, Sterzer P, Blake R, Knapen T. Multistable Perception and the Role of the Frontoparietal Cortex in Perceptual Inference. Annu Rev Psychol 2017; 69:77-103. [PMID: 28854000 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-010417-085944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
A given pattern of optical stimulation can arise from countless possible real-world sources, creating a dilemma for vision: What in the world actually gives rise to the current pattern? This dilemma was pointed out centuries ago by the astronomer and mathematician Ibn Al-Haytham and was forcefully restated 150 years ago when von Helmholtz characterized perception as unconscious inference. To buttress his contention, von Helmholtz cited multistable perception: recurring changes in perception despite unchanging sensory input. Recent neuroscientific studies have exploited multistable perception to identify brain areas uniquely activated in association with these perceptual changes, but the specific roles of those activations remain controversial. This article provides an overview of theoretical models of multistable perception, a review of recent neuroimaging and brain stimulation studies focused on mechanisms associated with these perceptual changes, and a synthesis of available evidence within the context of current notions about Bayesian inference that find their historical roots in von Helmholtz's work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Brascamp
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824
| | - Philipp Sterzer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Randolph Blake
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240; .,Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
| | - Tomas Knapen
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 1081BT Amsterdam, Netherlands
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32
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Gayet S, Stein T. Between-Subject Variability in the Breaking Continuous Flash Suppression Paradigm: Potential Causes, Consequences, and Solutions. Front Psychol 2017; 8:437. [PMID: 28396645 PMCID: PMC5366331 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00437] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 03/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A recent focus in the field of consciousness research involves investigating the propensity of initially non-conscious visual information to gain access to consciousness. A critical tool for measuring conscious access is the so-called breaking continuous flash suppression paradigm (b-CFS). In this paradigm, a high contrast dynamic pattern is presented to one eye, thereby temporarily suppressing a target stimulus that is presented to the other eye. The time it takes for observers to report (e.g., the location of) the initially suppressed stimulus provides a measure of conscious access. Typical observations in b-CFS studies include the finding that upright faces are released from suppression faster than inverted faces, and the finding that stimuli that match the current content of visual working memory are released from suppression faster than mismatching stimuli. Interestingly, the extent to which observers exhibit these effects varies extensively (in the range of hundreds of milliseconds). By re-analyzing existing datasets and a new dataset we establish that the difference in RTs between conditions in b-CFS tasks (i.e., the effect of interest) is highly correlated with participants' overall suppression durations, and with their trial-to-trial variability in RTs. We advocate the usage of a simple latency- normalization method, which (1) removes the between-subject variability in suppression duration from the effect of interest, while (2) providing distributions of RT differences that are better suited for parametric testing. We next compare this latency-normalization method to two other transformations that are widely applied on within-subject RT data (z-transformations and log-transformations). Finally, we tentatively discuss how trial-to-trial variability and overall suppression duration might relate to prolonged phases of shallow suppression that are more prone to modulations of conscious access.
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Affiliation(s)
- Surya Gayet
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht UniveristyUtrecht, Netherlands
| | - Timo Stein
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences, University of TrentoRovereto, Italy
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of AmsterdamAmsterdam, Netherlands
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33
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Karaminis T, Lunghi C, Neil L, Burr D, Pellicano E. Binocular rivalry in children on the autism spectrum. Autism Res 2017; 10:1096-1106. [PMID: 28301094 PMCID: PMC5485021 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2016] [Revised: 12/16/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
When different images are presented to the eyes, the brain is faced with ambiguity, causing perceptual bistability: visual perception continuously alternates between the monocular images, a phenomenon called binocular rivalry. Many models of rivalry suggest that its temporal dynamics depend on mutual inhibition among neurons representing competing images. These models predict that rivalry should be different in autism, which has been proposed to present an atypical ratio of excitation and inhibition [the E/I imbalance hypothesis; Rubenstein & Merzenich, 2003]. In line with this prediction, some recent studies have provided evidence for atypical binocular rivalry dynamics in autistic adults. In this study, we examined if these findings generalize to autistic children. We developed a child‐friendly binocular rivalry paradigm, which included two types of stimuli, low‐ and high‐complexity, and compared rivalry dynamics in groups of autistic and age‐ and intellectual ability‐matched typical children. Unexpectedly, the two groups of children presented the same number of perceptual transitions and the same mean phase durations (times perceiving one of the two stimuli). Yet autistic children reported mixed percepts for a shorter proportion of time (a difference which was in the opposite direction to previous adult studies), while elevated autistic symptomatology was associated with shorter mixed perception periods. Rivalry in the two groups was affected similarly by stimulus type, and consistent with previous findings. Our results suggest that rivalry dynamics are differentially affected in adults and developing autistic children and could be accounted for by hierarchical models of binocular rivalry, including both inhibition and top‐down influences. Autism Res2017. ©2017 The Authors Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Autism Research Autism Res 2017, 10: 1096–1106. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Themelis Karaminis
- Centre for Research in Autism and Education, Department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London, United Kingdom.,School of Psychology, Plymouth University, Plymouth, United Kingdom
| | - Claudia Lunghi
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.,Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy
| | - Louise Neil
- Centre for Research in Autism and Education, Department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - David Burr
- Institute of Neuroscience, National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy.,Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.,School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| | - Elizabeth Pellicano
- Centre for Research in Autism and Education, Department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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34
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Jack BN, Widmann A, O'Shea RP, Schröger E, Roeber U. Brain activity from stimuli that are not perceived: Visual mismatch negativity during binocular rivalry suppression. Psychophysiology 2017; 54:755-763. [DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2016] [Accepted: 12/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bradley N. Jack
- Discipline of Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University; Coffs Harbour Australia
- Institute of Psychology, University of Leipzig; Leipzig Germany
- School of Psychology; UNSW Australia; Sydney Australia
| | - Andreas Widmann
- Institute of Psychology, University of Leipzig; Leipzig Germany
| | - Robert P. O'Shea
- Discipline of Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University; Coffs Harbour Australia
- Institute of Psychology, University of Leipzig; Leipzig Germany
- School of Psychology and Exercise Science; Murdoch University; Perth Australia
| | - Erich Schröger
- Institute of Psychology, University of Leipzig; Leipzig Germany
| | - Urte Roeber
- Discipline of Psychology, School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University; Coffs Harbour Australia
- Institute of Psychology, University of Leipzig; Leipzig Germany
- School of Psychology and Exercise Science; Murdoch University; Perth Australia
- Discipline of Biomedical Science, University of Sydney; Sydney Australia
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35
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Metzger BA, Mathewson KE, Tapia E, Fabiani M, Gratton G, Beck DM. Regulating the Access to Awareness: Brain Activity Related to Probe-related and Spontaneous Reversals in Binocular Rivalry. J Cogn Neurosci 2017; 29:1089-1102. [PMID: 28195526 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Research on the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) has implicated an assortment of brain regions, ERP components, and network properties associated with visual awareness. Recently, the P3b ERP component has emerged as a leading NCC candidate. However, typical P3b paradigms depend on the detection of some stimulus change, making it difficult to separate brain processes elicited by the stimulus itself from those associated with updates or changes in visual awareness. Here we used binocular rivalry to ask whether the P3b is associated with changes in awareness even in the absence of changes in the object of awareness. We recorded ERPs during a probe-mediated binocular rivalry paradigm in which brief probes were presented over the image in either the suppressed or dominant eye to determine whether the elicited P3b activity is probe or reversal related. We found that the timing of P3b (but not its amplitude) was closely related to the timing of the report of a perceptual change rather than to the onset of the probe. This is consistent with the proposal that P3b indexes updates in conscious awareness, rather than being related to stimulus processing per se. Conversely, the probe-related P1 amplitude (but not its latency) was associated with reversal latency, suggesting that the degree to which the probe is processed increases the likelihood of a fast perceptual reversal. Finally, the response-locked P3b amplitude (but not its latency) was associated with the duration of an intermediate stage between reversals in which parts of both percepts coexist (piecemeal period). Together, the data suggest that the P3b reflects an update in consciousness and that the intensity of that process (as indexed by P3b amplitude) predicts how immediate that update is.
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36
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Chen Z, Maus GW, Whitney D, Denison RN. Filling-in rivalry: Perceptual alternations in the absence of retinal image conflict. J Vis 2017; 17:8. [PMID: 28114480 PMCID: PMC5256469 DOI: 10.1167/17.1.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2016] [Accepted: 11/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
During perceptual rivalry, an observer's perceptual experience alternates over time despite constant sensory stimulation. Perceptual alternations are thought to be driven by conflicting or ambiguous retinal image features at a particular spatial location and modulated by global context from surrounding locations. However, rivalry can also occur between two illusory stimuli-such as two filled-in stimuli within the retinal blind spot. In this "filling-in rivalry," what observers perceive in the blind spot changes in the absence of local stimulation. It remains unclear if filling-in rivalry shares common mechanisms with other types of rivalry. We measured the dynamics of rivalry between filled-in percepts in the blind spot, finding a high degree of exclusivity (perceptual dominance of one filled-in percept, rather than a perception of transparency), alternation rates that were highly consistent for individual observers, and dynamics that closely resembled other forms of perceptual rivalry. The results suggest that mechanisms common to a wide range of rivalry situations need not rely on conflicting retinal image signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhimin Chen
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USADepartment of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Gerrit W Maus
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USADivision of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - David Whitney
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Rachel N Denison
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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37
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Han S, Lunghi C, Alais D. The temporal frequency tuning of continuous flash suppression reveals peak suppression at very low frequencies. Sci Rep 2016; 6:35723. [PMID: 27767078 PMCID: PMC5073327 DOI: 10.1038/srep35723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2016] [Accepted: 10/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Continuous flash suppression (CFS) is a psychophysical technique where a rapidly changing Mondrian pattern viewed by one eye suppresses the target in the other eye for several seconds. Despite the widespread use of CFS to study unconscious visual processes, the temporal tuning of CFS suppression is currently unknown. In the present study we used spatiotemporally filtered dynamic noise as masking stimuli to probe the temporal characteristics of CFS. Surprisingly, we find that suppression in CFS peaks very prominently at approximately 1 Hz, well below the rates typically used in CFS studies (10 Hz or more). As well as a strong bias to low temporal frequencies, CFS suppression is greater for high spatial frequencies and increases with increasing masker contrast, indicating involvement of parvocellular/ventral mechanisms in the suppression process. These results are reminiscent of binocular rivalry, and unifies two phenomenon previously thought to require different explanations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shui'er Han
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Claudia Lunghi
- Department of Translational Research on New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, Via Savi 10, 56100 Pisa, Italy.,Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), Via Moruzzi 1, 56100, Pisa, Italy
| | - David Alais
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
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38
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Devyatko D, Appelbaum LG, Mitroff SR. A Common Mechanism for Perceptual Reversals in Motion-Induced Blindness, the Troxler Effect, and Perceptual Filling-In. Perception 2016; 46:50-77. [PMID: 27697914 DOI: 10.1177/0301006616672577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Several striking visual phenomena involve a physically present stimulus that alternates between being perceived and being "invisible." For example, motion-induced blindness, the Troxler effect, and perceptual filling-in all consist of subjective alternations where an item repeatedly changes from being seen to unseen. In the present study, we explored whether these three specific visual phenomena share any commonalities in their alternation rates and patterns to better understand the mechanisms of each. Data from 69 individuals revealed moderate to strong correlations across the three phenomena for the number of perceptual disappearances and the accumulated duration of the disappearances. Importantly, these effects were not correlated with eye movement patterns (saccades) assessed through eye tracking, differences in motion sensitivity as indexed by dot coherence and speed perception thresholds, or simple reaction time abilities. Principal component analyses revealed a single component that explained 67% of the variance for the number of perceptual reversals and 60% for the accumulated duration of the disappearances. The temporal dynamics of illusory disappearances was also compared for each phenomenon, and normalized durations of disappearances were well fit by a gamma distribution with similar shape parameters for each phenomenon, suggesting that they may be driven by a single oscillatory mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dina Devyatko
- National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia; Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa, Israel
| | - L Gregory Appelbaum
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Stephen R Mitroff
- Department of Psychology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
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39
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Denison RN, Sheynin J, Silver MA. Perceptual suppression of predicted natural images. J Vis 2016; 16:6. [PMID: 27802512 PMCID: PMC5098454 DOI: 10.1167/16.13.6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2016] [Accepted: 08/19/2016] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Perception is shaped not only by current sensory inputs but also by expectations generated from past sensory experience. Humans viewing ambiguous stimuli in a stable visual environment are generally more likely to see the perceptual interpretation that matches their expectations, but it is less clear how expectations affect perception when the environment is changing predictably. We used statistical learning to teach observers arbitrary sequences of natural images and employed binocular rivalry to measure perceptual selection as a function of predictive context. In contrast to previous demonstrations of preferential selection of predicted images for conscious awareness, we found that recently acquired sequence predictions biased perceptual selection toward unexpected natural images and image categories. These perceptual biases were not associated with explicit recall of the learned image sequences. Our results show that exposure to arbitrary sequential structure in the environment impacts subsequent visual perceptual selection and awareness. Specifically, for natural image sequences, the visual system prioritizes what is surprising, or statistically informative, over what is expected, or statistically likely.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel N Denison
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, US,
| | - Jacob Sheynin
- College of Letters and Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA,
| | - Michael A Silver
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, Vision Science Graduate Group, and School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, ://argentum.ucbso.berkeley.edu
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40
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Cao R, Pastukhov A, Mattia M, Braun J. Collective Activity of Many Bistable Assemblies Reproduces Characteristic Dynamics of Multistable Perception. J Neurosci 2016; 36:6957-72. [PMID: 27358454 PMCID: PMC6604901 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.4626-15.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2015] [Revised: 05/11/2016] [Accepted: 05/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
UNLABELLED The timing of perceptual decisions depends on both deterministic and stochastic factors, as the gradual accumulation of sensory evidence (deterministic) is contaminated by sensory and/or internal noise (stochastic). When human observers view multistable visual displays, successive episodes of stochastic accumulation culminate in repeated reversals of visual appearance. Treating reversal timing as a "first-passage time" problem, we ask how the observed timing densities constrain the underlying stochastic accumulation. Importantly, mean reversal times (i.e., deterministic factors) differ enormously between displays/observers/stimulation levels, whereas the variance and skewness of reversal times (i.e., stochastic factors) keep characteristic proportions of the mean. What sort of stochastic process could reproduce this highly consistent "scaling property?" Here we show that the collective activity of a finite population of bistable units (i.e., a generalized Ehrenfest process) quantitatively reproduces all aspects of the scaling property of multistable phenomena, in contrast to other processes under consideration (Poisson, Wiener, or Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process). The postulated units express the spontaneous dynamics of attractor assemblies transitioning between distinct activity states. Plausible candidates are cortical columns, or clusters of columns, as they are preferentially connected and spontaneously explore a restricted repertoire of activity states. Our findings suggests that perceptual representations are granular, probabilistic, and operate far from equilibrium, thereby offering a suitable substrate for statistical inference. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Spontaneous reversals of high-level perception, so-called multistable perception, conform to highly consistent and characteristic statistics, constraining plausible neural representations. We show that the observed perceptual dynamics would be reproduced quantitatively by a finite population of distinct neural assemblies, each with locally bistable activity, operating far from the collective equilibrium (generalized Ehrenfest process). Such a representation would be consistent with the intrinsic stochastic dynamics of neocortical activity, which is dominated by preferentially connected assemblies, such as cortical columns or clusters of columns. We predict that local neuron assemblies will express bistable dynamics, with spontaneous active-inactive transitions, whenever they contribute to high-level perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Cao
- Institute of Biology, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00161 Rome, Italy, and
| | | | | | - Jochen Braun
- Institute of Biology, Otto-von-Guericke University, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany, Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany,
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41
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Individual differences in the temporal dynamics of binocular rivalry and stimulus rivalry. Psychon Bull Rev 2016; 22:476-82. [PMID: 25092387 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-014-0695-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Binocular rivalry and stimulus rivalry are two forms of perceptual instability that arise when the visual system is confronted with conflicting stimulus information. In the case of binocular rivalry, dissimilar monocular stimuli are presented to the two eyes for an extended period of time, whereas for stimulus rivalry the dissimilar monocular stimuli are exchanged rapidly and repetitively between the eyes during extended viewing. With both forms of rivalry, one experiences extended durations of exclusive perceptual dominance that fluctuate between the two stimuli. Whether these two forms of rivalry arise within different stages of visual processing has remained debatable. Using an individual-differences approach, we found that both stimulus rivalry and binocular rivalry exhibited same-shaped distributions of dominance durations among a sample of 30 observers and, moreover, that the dominance durations measured during binocular and stimulus rivalry were significantly correlated among our sample of observers. Furthermore, we found a significant, positive correlation between alternation rate in binocular rivalry and the incidence of stimulus rivalry. These results suggest that the two forms of rivalry may be tapping common neural mechanisms, or at least different mechanisms with comparable time constants. It remains to be learned just why the incidences of binocular rivalry and stimulus rivalry vary so greatly among people.
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42
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Cao D, Zhuang X, Kang P, Hong SW, King AC. Acute Alcohol Drinking Promotes Piecemeal Percepts during Binocular Rivalry. Front Psychol 2016; 7:489. [PMID: 27092096 PMCID: PMC4822321 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2015] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Binocular rivalry refers to perceptual alternation when two eyes view different images. One of the potential percepts during binocular rivalry is a spatial mosaic of left- and right-eye images, known as piecemeal percepts, which may result from localized rivalries between small regions in the left- and right-eye images. It is known that alcohol increases inhibitory neurotransmission, which may reduce the number of alternations during binocular rivalry. However, it is unclear whether alcohol affects rivalry dynamics in the same manner for both coherent percepts (i.e., percepts of complete left or right images) and piecemeal percepts. To address this question, the present study measured the dynamics of binocular rivalry before and after 15 moderate-to-heavy social drinkers consumed an intoxicating dose of alcohol versus a placebo beverage. Both simple rivalrous stimuli consisting of gratings with different orientations, and complex stimuli consisting of a face or a house were tested to examine alcohol effects on rivalry as a function of stimulus complexity. Results showed that for both simple and complex stimuli, alcohol affects coherent and piecemeal percepts differently. More specifically, alcohol reduced the number of coherent percepts but not the mean dominance duration of coherent percepts. In contrast, for piecemeal percepts, alcohol increased the mean dominance duration but not the number of piecemeal percepts. These results suggested that alcohol drinking may selectively affect the dynamics of transitional period of binocular rivalry by increasing the duration of piecemeal percepts, leading to a reduction in the number of coherent percepts. The differential effect of alcohol on the dynamics of coherent and piecemeal percepts cannot be accounted for by alcohol’s effect on a common inhibitory mechanism. Other mechanisms, such as increasing neural noise, are needed to explain alcohol’s effect on the dynamics of binocular rivalry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dingcai Cao
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago IL, USA
| | - Xiaohua Zhuang
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago IL, USA
| | - Para Kang
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago IL, USA
| | - Sang W Hong
- Department of Psychology and Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton FL, USA
| | - Andrea C King
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, Chicago IL, USA
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43
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Abstract
Attentional influence over perception is particularly pronounced when sensory stimulation is ambiguous, where attention can reduce stimulus uncertainty and promote a stable interpretation of the world. However, binocular rivalry, an extensively studied visual ambiguity, has proved to be comparatively resistant to attentional modulation. We hypothesize that this apparent inconsistency reflects fluctuations in the degree of unresolved competition during binocular rivalry. Namely, attentional influence over rivalry dynamics should be limited to phases of relatively unresolved stimulus competition, such as ends of individual dominance periods. We found that transient, feature-based cues congruent with the dominant stimulus prolonged dominance durations, while cues matching the suppressed stimulus hastened its return to dominance. Notably, the effect of cues depended on when the cues are presented. Cues presented late, but not early, during a given episode of perceptual dominance influenced rivalry dynamics. This temporal pattern mirrors known changes in the relative competitive dynamics of rival stimuli, revealing that selective effects occur only during temporal windows containing weak resolution of visual competition. In conclusion, these findings reveal that unresolved competition, which gates attention across a variety of domains, is also crucial in determining the susceptibility of binocular rivalry to selective influences.
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44
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Brascamp J, Blake R, Knapen T. Negligible fronto-parietal BOLD activity accompanying unreportable switches in bistable perception. Nat Neurosci 2015; 18:1672-8. [PMID: 26436901 PMCID: PMC4603386 DOI: 10.1038/nn.4130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2015] [Accepted: 09/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The human brain's executive systems play a vital role in deciding and selecting among actions. Selection among alternatives also occurs in the perceptual domain, for instance when perception switches between interpretations during perceptual bistability. Whether executive systems also underlie this functionality remains debated, with known fronto-parietal concomitants of perceptual switches being variously interpreted as reflecting the switches' cause, or as reflecting their consequences. We developed a paradigm where the two eyes receive different inputs and perception demonstrably switches between these inputs, yet where switches themselves are so inconspicuous as to become unreportable, minimizing their executive consequences. Fronto-parietal fMRI BOLD responses that accompany perceptual switches were similarly minimized in this paradigm, indicating that these reflect the switches' consequences rather than their cause. We conclude that perceptual switches do not always rely on executive brain areas, and that processes responsible for selection among alternatives may operate outside of the brain's executive systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Brascamp
- Helmholtz Institute and Division of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.,Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.,Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
| | - Randolph Blake
- Department of Psychology and Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Tomas Knapen
- Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.,Cognitive Psychology, Department of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, VU Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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45
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Dieter KC, Tadin D, Pearson J. Motion-induced blindness continues outside visual awareness and without attention. Sci Rep 2015; 5:11841. [PMID: 26138079 PMCID: PMC4490349 DOI: 10.1038/srep11841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2015] [Accepted: 05/14/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual phenomena demonstrating striking perceptual disappearances of salient stimuli have fascinated researchers because of their utility in identifying neural processes that underlie subjective visibility and invisibility. Motion-induced blindness (MIB) is appealing for such purposes because it, like a class of ostensibly related paradigms such as binocular rivalry, features periods of unequivocal subjective disappearances despite constant physical stimulation. It remains unclear, however, exactly how the mechanisms that cause MIB are related to subjectively observed fluctuations in visual awareness. To address this question, we used continuous flash suppression (CFS) to present the MIB stimulus outside visual awareness. Results indicated that MIB occasionally reappeared from suppression with its salient yellow target absent. To quantify this observation, we measured reaction times (RTs) to detect the yellow dot target following visible or perceptually suppressed MIB and indeed found no difference in RTs between these conditions. We also provide evidence that MIB fluctuations can occur without attention. In sum, these experiments indicate that MIB fluctuations are effectively changes in stimulus strength, which under typical conditions result in unmistakable subjective disappearances, but are not inherently fluctuations in stimulus visibility. More broadly, these results challenge the assumed privileged link between bistable stimuli and visual awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin C. Dieter
- Vanderbilt Vision Research Center and Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN, 37240, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Duje Tadin
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Rochester School of Medicine, Rochester, NY, 14642, USA
| | - Joel Pearson
- School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, 2052, Australia
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46
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Brascamp JW, Klink PC, Levelt WJM. The 'laws' of binocular rivalry: 50 years of Levelt's propositions. Vision Res 2015; 109:20-37. [PMID: 25749677 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2015.02.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2015] [Revised: 02/13/2015] [Accepted: 02/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
It has been fifty years since Levelt's monograph On Binocular Rivalry (1965) was published, but its four propositions that describe the relation between stimulus strength and the phenomenology of binocular rivalry remain a benchmark for theorists and experimentalists even today. In this review, we will revisit the original conception of the four propositions and the scientific landscape in which this happened. We will also provide a brief update concerning distributions of dominance durations, another aspect of Levelt's monograph that has maintained a prominent presence in the field. In a critical evaluation of Levelt's propositions against current knowledge of binocular rivalry we will then demonstrate that the original propositions are not completely compatible with what is known today, but that they can, in a straightforward way, be modified to encapsulate the progress that has been made over the past fifty years. The resulting modified, propositions are shown to apply to a broad range of bistable perceptual phenomena, not just binocular rivalry, and they allow important inferences about the underlying neural systems. We argue that these inferences reflect canonical neural properties that play a role in visual perception in general, and we discuss ways in which future research can build on the work reviewed here to attain a better understanding of these properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- J W Brascamp
- Helmholtz Institute and Division of Experimental Psychology, Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - P C Klink
- Vision & Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts & Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Neuromodulation & Behaviour, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts & Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - W J M Levelt
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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47
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Learning of monocular information facilitates breakthrough to awareness during interocular suppression. Atten Percept Psychophys 2015; 77:790-803. [DOI: 10.3758/s13414-015-0839-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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48
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Fesi JD, Mendola JD. Individual peak gamma frequency predicts switch rate in perceptual rivalry. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:566-76. [PMID: 25271195 PMCID: PMC6869462 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2014] [Revised: 09/19/2014] [Accepted: 09/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Perceptual rivalry-the experience of alternation between two mutually exclusive interpretations of an ambiguous image-provides powerful opportunities to study conscious awareness. It is known that individual subjects experience perceptual alternations for various types of bistable stimuli at distinct rates, and this a stable, heritable trait. Also stable and heritable is the peak frequency of induced gamma-band (30-100 Hz) oscillation of a population-level response in occipital cortex to simple visual patterns, which has been established as a neural correlate of conscious processing. Interestingly, models for rivalry alternation rate and for the frequency of population-level oscillation have both cited inhibitory connections in cortex as crucial determinants of individual differences, and yet the relationship between these two variables has not yet been investigated. Here, we used magnetoencephalography to compare differences in alternation rate for binocular and monocular types of perceptual rivalry to differences in evoked and induced gamma-band frequency of neuromagnetic brain responses to simple nonrivalrous grating stimuli. For both types of bistable images, alternation rate was inversely correlated with the peak frequency of late evoked gamma activity in primary visual cortex (200-400 ms latency). Our results advance models of inhibition that account for subtle variation in normal visual cortex, and shed light on how small differences in anatomy and physiology relate to individual cognition and performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy D. Fesi
- Department of OphthalmologyMcGill UniversityMontrealCanada
- Department of PsychologyThe City University of New YorkNew YorkNY
| | - Janine D. Mendola
- Department of OphthalmologyMcGill UniversityMontrealCanada
- Department of PsychologyThe City University of New YorkNew YorkNY
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49
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Kogo N, Hermans L, Stuer D, van Ee R, Wagemans J. Temporal dynamics of different cases of bi-stable figure-ground perception. Vision Res 2014; 106:7-19. [PMID: 25451239 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2014.10.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2014] [Revised: 10/20/2014] [Accepted: 10/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Segmentation of a visual scene in "figure" and "ground" is essential for perception of the three-dimensional layout of a scene. In cases of bi-stable perception, two distinct figure-ground interpretations alternate over time. We were interested in the temporal dynamics of these alternations, in particular when the same image is presented repeatedly, with short blank periods in-between. Surprisingly, we found that the intermittent presentation of Rubin's classical "face-or-vase" figure, which is frequently taken as a standard case of bi-stable figure-ground perception, often evoked perceptual switches during the short presentations and stabilization was not prominent. Interestingly, bi-stable perception of Kanizsa's anomalous transparency figure did strongly stabilize across blanks. We also found stabilization for the Necker cube, which we used for comparison. The degree of stabilization (and the lack of it) varied across stimuli and across individuals. Our results indicate, against common expectation, that the stabilization phenomenon cannot be generally evoked by intermittent presentation. We argue that top-down feedback factors such as familiarity, semantics, expectation, and perceptual bias contribute to the complex processes underlying the temporal dynamics of bi-stable figure-ground perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naoki Kogo
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Tiensestraat 102, Box 3711, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lore Hermans
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Tiensestraat 102, Box 3711, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - David Stuer
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Tiensestraat 102, Box 3711, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Raymond van Ee
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Tiensestraat 102, Box 3711, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium; Donders Institute, Radboud University, Department of Biophysics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Philips Research Laboratories, Department of Brain, Body & Behavior, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
| | - Johan Wagemans
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, University of Leuven (KU Leuven), Tiensestraat 102, Box 3711, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium
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50
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Platonov A, Goossens J. Eye dominance alternations in binocular rivalry do not require visual awareness. J Vis 2014; 14:14.11.2. [DOI: 10.1167/14.11.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Artem Platonov
- Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Dept. of Cognitive Neuroscience, section Biophysics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jeroen Goossens
- Radboud University Medical Centre Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Dept. of Cognitive Neuroscience, section Biophysics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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