A study on binocular rivalry based on the steady state VEP

Abstract

Under conditions in which the visual system can not reconcile dissimilar images from the two eyes, perception typically alternates between the two images - a process known as binocular rivalry. This work presents a method based on the time-frequency analysis of the steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) that continuously registers the alternation in physiological dominance of the two eyes. Two images flickered at different frequencies as the visual stimulator to left and right eyes respectively so that the response can be recovered from the EEG by time-frequency analysis. The physiological dominance of each eye as evidenced by the SSVEP record correlates well with the subjects' report of perceptual dominance. This electrophysiological method appears to be suitable for measuring rivalry in non-verbal human or animals.