Mokri Eric, da Silva Castanheira Jason, Baillet Sylvain, Mendola Janine D
Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC H4A 3S5, Canada.
McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada.
iScience. 2025 Aug 16;28(9):113383. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.113383. eCollection 2025 Sep 19.
Binocular rivalry is a visual phenomenon that involves alternating percepts despite stable input, providing a window into perceptual processing and neural dynamics. We examined changes in alpha band activity (8-13 Hz) using magnetoencephalographic imaging (MEG). Our time-frequency analysis demonstrates a decrease in alpha band power before the onset of rivalry alternations, indicating a reduction in inhibitory processing, permitting destabilization of the dominant percept. In contrast, an increase in alpha power was observed prior to participant's report of mixed percepts, suggesting heightened inhibitory processing associated with perceptual ambiguity. Directed connectivity analysis (phase transfer entropy) revealed enhanced feedback connectivity from parietal to early visual areas preceding perceptual dominance, which shifted toward feedforward connectivity following perceptual alternations. These findings suggest that alpha oscillations play a critical role in the excitation-inhibition balance that underlies perceptual stability during binocular rivalry and are further related to individual differences in perceptual experiences.
双眼竞争是一种视觉现象，尽管输入稳定，但会涉及交替的感知，为洞察感知处理和神经动力学提供了一个窗口。我们使用脑磁图成像（MEG）研究了阿尔法波段活动（8 - 13赫兹）的变化。我们的时频分析表明，在竞争交替开始之前，阿尔法波段功率下降，这表明抑制性处理减少，使得占主导地位的感知不稳定。相比之下，在参与者报告混合感知之前，观察到阿尔法功率增加，这表明与感知模糊性相关的抑制性处理增强。定向连接性分析（相位转移熵）显示，在感知占主导之前，从顶叶到早期视觉区域的反馈连接增强，而在感知交替之后，这种连接转向了前馈连接。这些发现表明，阿尔法振荡在双眼竞争期间支撑感知稳定性的兴奋 - 抑制平衡中起着关键作用，并且进一步与感知体验中的个体差异相关。
