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Distinct MEG correlates of conscious experience, perceptual reversals and stabilization during binocular rivalry.

Sandberg, K; Barnes, GR; Bahrami, B; Kanai, R; Overgaard, M; Rees, G; (2014) Distinct MEG correlates of conscious experience, perceptual reversals and stabilization during binocular rivalry. Neuroimage , 100 pp. 161-175. 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.06.023. Green open access

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Abstract

During binocular rivalry, visual perception alternates spontaneously between two different monocular images. Such perceptual reversals are slowed or halted if stimuli are presented intermittently with inter-stimulus intervals larger than ~400ms - a phenomenon called stabilization. Often, the neural correlates of reversal and stabilization are studied separately, and both phenomena in turn are studied separately from the neural correlates of conscious perception. To distinguish the neural correlates of perceptual content, stabilization and reversal, we recorded MEG signals associated with each in the same group of healthy humans observing repeated trials of intermittent presentation of a dichoptic stimulus. Perceptual content correlated mainly with modulation of stimulus-specific activity in occipital/temporal areas 150-270ms after stimulus onset, possibly reflecting inhibition of the neural populations representing the suppressed image. Stability of perception reflected a gradual build-up of this modulation across at least 10 trials and was also, to some extent, associated with parietal activity 40-90ms and 220-270ms after stimulus onset. Perceptual reversals, in contrast, were associated with parietal (150-270ms) and temporal (150-210ms) activity on the trial before the reversal and a gradual change in perception-specific activity in occipital (150-270ms) and temporal (220-420ms) areas across at least 10 trials leading up to a reversal. Mechanistically, these findings suggest that stability of perception during rivalry is maintained by modulation of activity related to the two monocular images, and gradual adaptation of neuronal populations leads to instability that is eventually resolved by signals from parietal and late sensory cortices.

Type: Article
Title: Distinct MEG correlates of conscious experience, perceptual reversals and stabilization during binocular rivalry.
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.06.023
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.06.023
Additional information: © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Keywords: Binocular rivalry, Consciousness, MEG, Magnetoencephalography, Perceptual reversals, Stabilization
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Imaging Neuroscience
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
URI: https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1433296
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