Fast cyclic stimulus flashing modulates dominance duration in binocular rivalry

Abstract

This study addresses the problem whether duration of the dominant time (i.e., time interval during which the subject perceives only one of two presented stimuli under binocular rivalry) depends upon frequency of flashes of monocular stimuli. Two orthogonal black bars against white backgrounds were presented tachistoscopically for the left and right eyes, respectively. Duration of each bar flash was randomly changed by 1 ms from 4 till 20 ms (125−25 flash/s). We found that duration of the dominant time as function of flashing stimulus span is changed periodically with the period about 4−5 ms. Results are discussed within the hypothesis of discrete information processing in the nervous system. The contribution of the harmonic oscillations of physiological processes in this phenomenon is also analyzed.