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Multistability in Perception Dynamics

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Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience

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Synonyms

Ambiguous stimuli; Binocular/monocular rivalry; Multistable perception; Perceptual alternations; Perceptual bistability/tristability; Perceptual rivalry; Perceptual switching; Visual rivalry

Definition

Multistability in Perception Dynamics is the phenomenon of spontaneous switching in the subject’s perception between different interpretations of an ambiguous sensory stimulus.

Detailed Description

When subjects are confronted with an ambiguous sensory stimulus for an extended time, instead of experiencing a fixed percept, they report spontaneous switching between the different interpretations, a phenomenon known as perceptual multistability.

In perceptual multistability, while the subject is aware of one percept, the others appear suppressed from consciousness. Moreover, the subject experiences constant switches from being aware to being unaware of a given percept. This phenomenon is thought to provide a powerful method to search for neural correlates of conscious awareness,...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departament de Matemàtica Aplicada I, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Avda Diagonal 647, Barcelona, 08028, Spain

    Gemma Huguet

  2. Center for Neural Science & Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    John Rinzel

Authors
  1. Gemma Huguet
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  2. John Rinzel
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Correspondence to Gemma Huguet .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Dieter Jaeger

  2. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA

    Ranu Jung

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Huguet, G., Rinzel, J. (2014). Multistability in Perception Dynamics. In: Jaeger, D., Jung, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Computational Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_301-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7320-6_301-1

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-7320-6

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