Rankin J, Meso A I, Masson G S, Faugeras O, Kornprobst P
Neuromathcomp Team, Inria Sophia Antipolis, 2004 Route des Lucioles-BP 93, Alpes-Maritimes, 06902, France,
J Comput Neurosci. 2014 Apr;36(2):193-213. doi: 10.1007/s10827-013-0465-5. Epub 2013 Sep 7.
Perceptual multistability is a phenomenon in which alternate interpretations of a fixed stimulus are perceived intermittently. Although correlates between activity in specific cortical areas and perception have been found, the complex patterns of activity and the underlying mechanisms that gate multistable perception are little understood. Here, we present a neural field competition model in which competing states are represented in a continuous feature space. Bifurcation analysis is used to describe the different types of complex spatio-temporal dynamics produced by the model in terms of several parameters and for different inputs. The dynamics of the model was then compared to human perception investigated psychophysically during long presentations of an ambiguous, multistable motion pattern known as the barberpole illusion. In order to do this, the model is operated in a parameter range where known physiological response properties are reproduced whilst also working close to bifurcation. The model accounts for characteristic behaviour from the psychophysical experiments in terms of the type of switching observed and changes in the rate of switching with respect to contrast. In this way, the modelling study sheds light on the underlying mechanisms that drive perceptual switching in different contrast regimes. The general approach presented is applicable to a broad range of perceptual competition problems in which spatial interactions play a role.
感知多稳态是一种现象，在这种现象中，对固定刺激的交替解释会间歇性地被感知到。尽管已经发现特定皮层区域的活动与感知之间存在相关性，但对于多稳态感知的复杂活动模式及其潜在机制却知之甚少。在此，我们提出了一种神经场竞争模型，其中竞争状态在连续特征空间中表示。分岔分析用于根据几个参数以及不同输入来描述该模型产生的不同类型的复杂时空动力学。然后将该模型的动力学与在长时间呈现一种称为理发店旋转错觉的模糊多稳态运动模式期间通过心理物理学方法研究的人类感知进行比较。为了做到这一点，该模型在一个参数范围内运行，在这个范围内既能再现已知的生理反应特性，同时又接近分岔点。该模型从观察到的切换类型以及切换速率相对于对比度的变化方面解释了心理物理学实验中的特征行为。通过这种方式，建模研究揭示了在不同对比度条件下驱动感知切换的潜在机制。所提出的一般方法适用于广泛的感知竞争问题，其中空间相互作用起着重要作用。
