Binocular rivalry is a phenomenon that occurs when slightly different images are presented to each eye simultaneously.
The brain is unable to fuse the two images into a single, coherent image, and instead alternates between perceiving one image and then the other.
This can cause the perceived image to flicker or change back and forth between the two images.
Table of Contents
- How does the Binocular Rivalry Illusion work?
- Versions of the Binocular Rivalry
- Illusions like the Binocular Rivalry
- Discovery of the Binocular Rivalry
- References and Resources
- Sign up for emails from Mental Bomb
How does Binocular Rivalry work?
Binocular rivalry occurs when slightly different images are presented to each eye simultaneously. The brain receives input from each eye, but is unable to fuse the two images into a single, coherent image. Instead, it alternates between perceiving one image and then the other.
The exact mechanism by which the brain alternates between the two images is not fully understood, but it is thought to involve neural competition between the two eyes’ input at the level of the primary visual cortex. This competition is thought to be mediated by inhibitory interactions between neurons that are sensitive to the different images.
It’s also been proposed that the alternation between the two images is not purely random, but rather depends on the features of the images, such as their contrast, spatial frequency, and semantic meaning.
Binocular rivalry can be used to study the neural mechanisms of visual perception, depth perception and binocularity. It has been used to investigate the role of attention, top-down processing and adaptation in the perception of rivaling stimuli.
It’s important to note that binocular rivalry is different from binocular summation, which is the phenomenon that occurs when the visual information from the two eyes is combined to produce a single, more robust image.
Difference Between Monocular Rivalry and Binocular Rivalry
Monocular rivalry and binocular rivalry are similar in that they both involve the perception of conflicting images, but they differ in the way the images are presented to the eyes.
Monocular rivalry occurs when different images are presented to each eye simultaneously. In this case, the brain receives input from each eye, but is unable to process both images at the same time, so it alternates between perceiving one image and then the other.
Binocular rivalry, on the other hand, occurs when the same image is presented to both eyes, but the images are slightly different in some way, such as a small shift in position or a slight change in contrast. In this case, the brain is unable to fuse the two images into a single, coherent image, and instead alternates between perceiving one image and then the other.
The neural mechanisms that underlie monocular and binocular rivalry are thought to be similar, but the specific processes that lead to the perception of the rivaling images may differ. Monocular rivalry is often used to study visual perception and the brain, while binocular rivalry is used to study the neural mechanisms of depth perception, stereopsis and binocularity.
Versions of the Binocular Rivalry
The following are an alternate versions of the Binocular Rivalry:
From Wikimedia Commons
From Wikimedia Commons
Illusions like Bionocular Rivalry
Binocular rivalry is a type of perceptual illusion. Perceptual illusions are those that involve the brain’s interpretation of sensory input and can include visual, auditory, and other types of illusions.
In the case of monocular rivalry, the brain is interpreting the input from each eye differently, leading to the perception of an image that is different from the physical image presented to the eye.
Some related illusions include the following:
Monocular rivalry is a phenomenon that occurs when different images are presented to each eye simultaneously. The brain is unable to process both images at the same time, so it alternates between perceiving one image and then the other.
The Checker Shadow Illusion is created by a checkerboard pattern composed of squares with different luminance values, the squares that are not directly illuminated by the light source appear darker than the illuminated squares, creating the illusion of shadows.
The simultaneous contrast illusion is a visual effect that occurs when the perception of a color is affected by the colors of the surrounding area.
The illusion creates the appearance of a change in the color of an object, even though the actual color of the object remains constant.
The Neon Color Spreading illusion refers to the visual phenomenon where an area of color appears to spread or “bleed” beyond its intended boundaries.
The Bezold Effect: This illusion is created by placing two or more colors next to each other, and the way they appear to change when they are close to one another.
The Chubb illusion is based on the perception of brightness and can be observed when a small bright patch is surrounded by a larger dark area, the small bright patch will appear brighter than the same patch surrounded by a bright area.
The Chevreul Illusion: This illusion is created by the way the brain perceives edges of an object. When the edges of an object are surrounded by a contrasting color, the edges appear to be a different color than they actually are. Chevreul’s illusion is similar to Mach bands, but they work in different ways. Chevreul’s illusion is an effect on the perception of hue, while Mach bands is an effect on the perception of brightness.
White’s illusion is a visual phenomenon in which two identical gray bars are placed on a background of alternating black and white stripes.
The gray bars appear to be different shades of gray, with the one on the white stripes appearing lighter than the one on the black stripes.
In the image below, both gray bars have the exact same color.
The Cornsweet illusion is a classic example of a brightness illusion, which is an illusion in which two areas that are physically the same brightness appear to be different in brightness.
The Watercolor Illusion: This illusion is created by the way the brain perceives edges of an object. When an object is surrounded by a colored halo, the object appears to have a different color than it actually does.
The Café Wall Illusion is a visual illusion that is created by a grid of alternating light and dark horizontal and vertical lines. The lines appear to be bent or tilted, even though they are actually straight.
Discovery of Binocular Rivalry
The phenomenon of binocular rivalry has been known for centuries, and has been observed and described by many scientists and philosophers. However, it wasn’t until the late 19th and early 20th centuries that the phenomenon began to be studied systematically.
One of the first scientists to study binocular rivalry in a systematic way was the psychologist Joseph Jastrow. He published several articles in the late 19th century describing the phenomenon of binocular rivalry and the different ways it can manifest.
In the early 20th century, the psychologist Edgar Rubin made significant contributions to the study of binocular rivalry and is often credited with introducing the term “binocular rivalry” to describe the phenomenon. He published several articles describing his findings on binocular rivalry, and his work on the topic is still widely cited today.
Other scientists like the physiologist and psychologist Ludimar Hermann, who in 1870 proposed that the perception of one eye’s image is suppressed by the other eye’s image, also contributed to the understanding of binocular rivalry.
Overall, many scientists have contributed to the discovery and understanding of binocular rivalry and it’s still an active area of research.
References and Resources
Check out our complete list of illusions.