Abstract
Binocular rivalry has been measured for over 100 years by Alternative-Forced-Choice(AFC)-tasks that monitor 2-4 perceptual states(exclusive OS/OD and piecemeal/superimposition) to provide insights into the dynamics of visual consciousness and excitation-inhibition in neurological impairments. These methods lack: validated individual introspection, dynamic transition-measurements between-within experimenter-defined AFC-states, resolution within mixed states, weighted transition-probabilities. We introduce InFoRM(Indicate-Follow-Replay-Me) Rivalry, an assumption-free 4-phase-method that dynamically tracks and validates perceptual experiences, allowing novel insights into rivalry dynamics. 25 normally-sighted participants completed InFoRM for 3 contrast conditions using 2c/° ±45° sine-gratings in 2°apertures. A stereoscopic display was used to present binocular-non-rivaling and dichoptic-rivaling stimuli, leaving naïve subjects condition-blinded. Participants moved a 60Hz-joystick to actively control the physical stimuli or to provide a continuous output of perceptual experience. Perceptual-state-space was controlled with thresholded band-pass filtered noise: the vertical joystick axis mapped fPeak(# areas); the horizontal axis mapped threshold(proportion for each image). During Indicate-Me, participants explored the stimulus-space for 60sec, moving the joystick to modify binocular-non-rivaling stimuli in real-time and simulate six canonical rivalry states. During Follow-Me, participants matched perceptual reports for physically changing binocular-non-rivaling-stimuli in four author-created rivalry-trials and four self-generated trials illustrating canonical rivalry states from Indicate-Me. During Rival-Me, participants reported their perception during eight 60sec-trials of dichoptic-rivalry. During Replay-Me, participants’ responses during the eight Rival-Me dichoptic-trials were used to generate physically changing binocular stimuli, which validated their individual perceptual-state-space. The self-generated Follow-Me responses were classified as 6AFC classic responses, which resulted in findings comparable with previous research. However, the underlying perceptual states were continuously varying with idiosyncratic experiences of mixed percepts’ size and shape, that we analyzed with weighted Markov-chains. Rivalry-speed and-velocity were also analyzed. InFoRM Rivalry therefore provides an unbiased, validated estimate of dynamic, personalized perceptual-state-spaces and promises to be a novel tool for both basic science of visual consciousness and clinical research of interocular suppression.