Early views on binocular rivalry

What is it about?

This book chapter introduces the phenomenon of binocular rivalry by providing an historical overview of its study. It starts by documenting observations of the phenomenon made in the 16th Century and onwards, well before those made by Sir Charles Wheatstone and Hermann von Helmholtz. Next discussed is how examination of binocular rivalry stemmed from early inquiry into binocular vision and binocular combination, with Rene Descartes’ theory of brain pathways for processing retinal disparity provoking his contemporaries into observing binocular rivalry. Following on is an outline of the advent of experimental methods for examining perception, such as the invention of the stereoscope, which transformed rivalry studies, including the work of Wheatstone, Helmholtz and Panum. Also discussed are the philosophical traditions that contextualized the advances in rivalry research, as well as how early notions of attention and consciousness were applied to rivalry.

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Why is it important?

This work provides the first comprehensive history of binocular rivalry research within the context of current scientific and philosophical interest in the brain basis of consciousness — in particular, the principle of neural dissociation that is now common in modern mechanistic studies of rivalry (i.e., distinguishing neural activity mediating the alternate percepts from that corresponding to the constant sensory input).