Predictive context using arbitrarily linked stimuli: The influence on dominance during onset binocular rivalry

Abstract

There are many theories about how predictive context influences onset binocular rivalry. As this previous research has focused on links between stimuli that are already present in the brain, it is interesting to see what happens when we do these experiments with arbitrary, taught associations between stimuli. it is hypothesized that there would be no difference between arbitrary and non-arbitrary predicitive context during rivalry. Participants were instructed to learn this association by means of a search task, in which a cue was linked to a colour. They were then later instructed to report which colour was dominant during onset binocular rivalry after having shown one of the used cues. The results show that the learned predictive context had little to no influence on dominant colours during the rivalry task. This is a rejection of our hypothesis, but in line with the proposed theory that dominance during onset binocular rivalry is settled in simple circuits in cortical and subcortical areas, instead of top-down and higher-order knowledge. More research is needed to further support this theory.