Cite as:
O'Shea R P, Bhardwaj R, Alais D, Parker A, 2007, "Weak suppression during image rivalry" Perception 36 ECVP Abstract Supplement

Weak suppression during image rivalry

R P O'Shea, R Bhardwaj, D Alais, A Parker

During binocular rivalry, one stimulus is visible, dominant, while the other stimulus is invisible, suppressed; after a few seconds, perception reverses. To determine whether these alternations involve competition between the eyes or between the images, we measured suppression depth--the ratio of contrast thresholds during dominance and suppression--with 100 ms monocular probes. We did this with conventional rival stimuli and with rival stimuli swapping between the eyes at 1.5 Hz (both sorts of rivalry were shown either with or without 18 Hz flicker). The conventional conditions cause rivalry that could involve competition between the eyes. The eye-swapping conditions cause rivalry that must involve competition between the images. Probes were either a small spot or a contrast increment to one of the rival stimuli. We found that conventional conditions yielded large suppression depth and eye-swapping conditions yielded small suppression depth (flicker had little effect). Weak suppression during image rivalry is consistent with rivalry involving competition between eyes and between images.

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