Abstract

With his invention of the stereoscope in 1838, Wheatstone observed two remarkable perceptual phenomena produced by dichoptic stimulation. One was stereopsis, the compelling sense of depth that occurs when similar half-images stimulate noncorresponding areas of the two eyes. The other was binocular rivalry, the alternating periods of monocular suppression produced by dissimilar stimulation of corresponding areas of the two eyes. By its very nature, binocular rivalry implies the existence of inhibitory interactions between the two eyes. Binocular rivalry can be construed as the default outcome when the binocular visual system fails to establish correspondence between the two monocular images. This presentation summarizes (1) the stimulus conditions that trigger rivalry (i.e., the features used in the establishment of correspondence); (2) various means (e.g., eye movements) for measuring alternations in dominance during rivalry; and (3) evidence bearing on the putative locus of rivalry. In addition, the relation between rivalry suppression and other forms of binocular inhibition is discussed. Finally, the role of top-down influences on rivalry will be considered. It is concluded that rivalry is triggered by rather unrefined stimulus features and that it operates at a relatively early stage of visual processing.

© 1986 Optical Society of America