Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Computer Science, Cybernetics, Neurosciences, Computer Science, Neurosciences & Neurology, MULTISTABLE VISUAL-PERCEPTION, NECKER CUBE REVERSALS, AMBIGUOUS FIGURES, WAVELET TRANSFORM, ACTION-POTENTIALS, HUMAN BRAIN, RIVALRY, TASK, ATTENTION, MEMORY, Adult, Alpha Rhythm, Female, Frontal Lobe, Humans, Individuality, Male, Occipital Lobe, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Perception, Photic Stimulation, Reaction Time, Theta Rhythm, Time Factors, 0299 Other Physical Sciences, 0801 Artificial Intelligence and Image Processing, 1702 Cognitive Sciences, Neurology & Neurosurgery, 3102 Bioinformatics and computational biology, 3209 Neurosciences, 4601 Applied computing

Abstract:

Prolonged presentation of visually ambiguous figures leads to perceptual switching. Individual switching rates show great variability. The present study compares individuals with high versus low switching rates by investigating human scalp electroencephalogram and blink rates. Eight subjects viewed the Necker cube continuously and responded to perceptual switching by pressing a button. Frequent switchers showed characteristic occipital alpha and frontal theta band activity prior to a switch, whereas infrequent switchers did not. The alpha activity was specific to switching, the theta activity was generic to perceptual processing conditions. A negative correlation was observed between perceptual switching and blink rates. These results suggest that the ability to concentrate attentional effort on the task is responsible for the differences in perceptual switching rates.