Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd, BS-12, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA; Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd, BS-12, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA.
Vision Res. 2024 Jun;219:108401. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2024.108401. Epub 2024 Apr 3.
Interocular grouping during binocular rivalry occurs when two images presented to each eye combine into a coherent pattern. The experience of interocular grouping is thought to be influenced by both eye-of-origin, which involves excitatory lateral connections among monocular neurons, and pattern coherence, which results from top-down intervention from higher visual areas. However, it remains unclear which factor plays a more significant role in the interocularly-grouped percepts during binocular rivalry. The current study employed an individual difference approach to investigate whether grouping dynamics are mainly determined by eye-of-origin or pattern coherence. We found that participants who perceived interocularly-driven coherent percepts for a longer duration also tended to experience longer periods of monocularly-driven coherent percepts. In contrast, participants who experienced non-coherent piecemeal percepts for an extended duration in conventional rivalry also had longer duration of non-coherent percepts in the interocular coherence setting. This individual differences in experiencing interocular grouping suggest that pattern coherence exerts a stronger influence on grouping dynamics during binocular rivalry compared to eye-of-origin factors.
双眼竞争期间的双眼分组是指当两个图像分别呈现在两只眼睛时，它们组合成一个连贯的模式。人们认为双眼分组的体验受到眼起源（涉及单眼神经元之间的兴奋性侧连接）和模式连贯性（来自更高视觉区域的自上而下的干预）的影响。然而，目前尚不清楚哪个因素在双眼竞争期间的双眼分组知觉中起着更重要的作用。本研究采用个体差异方法来研究分组动态主要是由眼起源还是模式连贯性决定。我们发现，对于更长时间的双眼驱动的连贯知觉的参与者，也倾向于经历更长时间的单眼驱动的连贯知觉。相比之下，在传统竞争中经历长时间扩展的不连贯碎片知觉的参与者，在双眼相干性设置中也有更长时间的不连贯知觉。这种在体验双眼分组方面的个体差异表明，与眼起源因素相比，模式连贯性在双眼竞争期间对分组动态施加了更强的影响。
