Why is Binocular Rivalry Uncommon? Discrepant Monocular Images in the Real World

Abstract

When different images project to corresponding points in the two eyes they can instigate a phenomenon called binocular rivalry (BR), wherein each image seems to intermittently disappear such that only one of the two images is seen at a time. Cautious readers may have noted an important caveat in the opening sentence – this situation can instigate BR, but usually it doesn’t. Unmatched monocular images are frequently encountered in daily life due to either differential occlusions of the two eyes or because of selective obstructions of just one eye, but this does not tend to induce BR. Here I will explore the reasons for this and discuss implications for BR in general. It will be argued that BR is resolved in favor of the instantaneously stronger neural signal, and that this process is driven by an adaptation that enhances the visibility of distant fixated objects over that of more proximate obstructions of an eye. Accordingly, BR would reflect the dynamics of an inherently visual operation that usually deals with real-world constraints.

A functional theory of bistable perception based on dynamical circular inference

“…The perceptual system should expect the input distribution to differ between the two interpretations (otherwise they would be uninformative and disregarded) even if this is not the case for artificial stimuli used in bistable experiments (Fig 1B). Of note, completely ambiguous stimuli are, in fact, very rare [3,58] and unlikely to be learned from experience.…”

“…Sometimes, perceptual systems fail to detect any meaningful interpretation (e.g., when sensory evidence is too degraded) or converge to the wrong interpretation (e.g., visual illusions [1,2]). Finally, a third possibility occurs (mainly in lab conditions [3]) when ambiguity is high; the system detects more than one plausible interpretations but instead of committing to one interpretation, it switches every few seconds, a phenomenon known as bistable perception [4]. Despite ongoing scientific efforts, there has been no unanimous agreement either on the causes of bistability or on its functional role.…”

The ‘laws’ of binocular rivalry: 50 years of Levelt’s propositions

“…This suggests a relation between, on the one hand, experimental paradigms involving binocular rivalry and binocular brightness interaction and, on the other, the everyday occurrence of perceptual suppression when elements outside of the fixation plane are not matched between the retinas (Arnold et al, 2007; see also Arnold, 2011;Fahle, 1982;Leopold et al, 2005;O'Shea, 2011).…”

Fluctuations of visual awareness: Combining motion-induced blindness with binocular rivalry

“…These hierarchical models suggest competition between higher-level binocular representations of images (''object rivalry'') in addition to reciprocal inhibition between monocular representations of images tied to signals from each eye separately (''eye rivalry''). Wilson (2003) further proposed that neural competition may be a general characteristic that can be found throughout the levels of cortical visual processing and that inhibitory computations might operate at different levels of visual processing, thus helping to explain similar temporal dynamics in diverse sets of multistable phenomena (Arnold, 2011;Blake, 1989;Lehky, 1988;Leopold & Logothetis, 1999;Noest, van Ee, Nijs, & van Wezel, 2007).…”