Multi-stable perception balances stability and sensitivity
We report that multi-stable perception operates in a consistent, dynamical regime, balancing the conflicting goals of stability and sensitivity. When a multi-stable visual display is viewed continuously, its phenomenal appearance reverses spontaneously at irregular intervals. We characterized the pe...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2013-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fncom.2013.00017/full |
| _version_ | 1828895728820289536 |
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| author | Alexander ePastukhov Alexander ePastukhov Pedro Ernesto eGarcía-Rodríguez Joachim eHaenicke Joachim eHaenicke Antoni eGuillamon Gustavo eDeco Jochen eBraun Jochen eBraun |
| author_facet | Alexander ePastukhov Alexander ePastukhov Pedro Ernesto eGarcía-Rodríguez Joachim eHaenicke Joachim eHaenicke Antoni eGuillamon Gustavo eDeco Jochen eBraun Jochen eBraun |
| author_sort | Alexander ePastukhov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We report that multi-stable perception operates in a consistent, dynamical regime, balancing the conflicting goals of stability and sensitivity. When a multi-stable visual display is viewed continuously, its phenomenal appearance reverses spontaneously at irregular intervals. We characterized the perceptual dynamics of individual observers in terms of four statistical measures: the distribution of dominance times (mean and variance) and the novel, subtle dependence on prior history (correlation and time-constant).The dynamics of multi-stable perception is known to reflect several stabilizing and destabilizing factors. Phenomenologically, its main aspects are captured by a simplistic computational model with competition, adaptation, and noise. We identified small parameter volumes (~3% of the possible volume) in which the model reproduced both dominance distribution and history-dependence of each observer. For 21 of 24 data sets, the identified volumes clustered tightly (~15% of the possible volume), revealing a consistent `operating regime' of multi-stable perception. The `operating regime' turned out to be marginally stable or, equivalently, near the brink of an oscillatory instability. The chance probability of the observed clustering was <0.02.To understand the functional significance of this empirical `operating regime', we compared it to the theoretical `sweet spot' of the model. We computed this `sweet spot' as the intersection of the parameter volumes in which the model produced stable perceptual outcomes and in which it was sensitive to input modulations. Remarkably, the empirical `operating regime' proved to be largely coextensive with the theoretical `sweet spot'. This demonstrated that perceptual dynamics was not merely consistent but also functionally optimized (in that it balances stability with sensitivity). Our results imply that multi-stable perception is not a laboratory curiosity, but reflects a functional optimization of perceptual dynamics |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T14:31:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-25aa90f0f03b48a0a45a417fa616adb1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5188 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T14:31:20Z |
| publishDate | 2013-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-25aa90f0f03b48a0a45a417fa616adb12022-12-21T23:41:49ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience1662-51882013-03-01710.3389/fncom.2013.0001742372Multi-stable perception balances stability and sensitivityAlexander ePastukhov0Alexander ePastukhov1Pedro Ernesto eGarcía-Rodríguez2Joachim eHaenicke3Joachim eHaenicke4Antoni eGuillamon5Gustavo eDeco6Jochen eBraun7Jochen eBraun8Center for Behavioral Brain SciencesOtto-von-Guericke-UniversitätCentre de Recerca MatemàticaCenter for Behavioral Brain SciencesOtto-von-Guericke-UniversitätUniversitat Politècnica de CatalunyaInstitució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis AvançatsCenter for Behavioral Brain SciencesOtto-von-Guericke-UniversitätWe report that multi-stable perception operates in a consistent, dynamical regime, balancing the conflicting goals of stability and sensitivity. When a multi-stable visual display is viewed continuously, its phenomenal appearance reverses spontaneously at irregular intervals. We characterized the perceptual dynamics of individual observers in terms of four statistical measures: the distribution of dominance times (mean and variance) and the novel, subtle dependence on prior history (correlation and time-constant).The dynamics of multi-stable perception is known to reflect several stabilizing and destabilizing factors. Phenomenologically, its main aspects are captured by a simplistic computational model with competition, adaptation, and noise. We identified small parameter volumes (~3% of the possible volume) in which the model reproduced both dominance distribution and history-dependence of each observer. For 21 of 24 data sets, the identified volumes clustered tightly (~15% of the possible volume), revealing a consistent `operating regime' of multi-stable perception. The `operating regime' turned out to be marginally stable or, equivalently, near the brink of an oscillatory instability. The chance probability of the observed clustering was <0.02.To understand the functional significance of this empirical `operating regime', we compared it to the theoretical `sweet spot' of the model. We computed this `sweet spot' as the intersection of the parameter volumes in which the model produced stable perceptual outcomes and in which it was sensitive to input modulations. Remarkably, the empirical `operating regime' proved to be largely coextensive with the theoretical `sweet spot'. This demonstrated that perceptual dynamics was not merely consistent but also functionally optimized (in that it balances stability with sensitivity). Our results imply that multi-stable perception is not a laboratory curiosity, but reflects a functional optimization of perceptual dynamicshttp://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fncom.2013.00017/fulladaptationModelBinocular RivalryMulti-stabilityexploitation-exploration dilemma |
| spellingShingle | Alexander ePastukhov Alexander ePastukhov Pedro Ernesto eGarcía-Rodríguez Joachim eHaenicke Joachim eHaenicke Antoni eGuillamon Gustavo eDeco Jochen eBraun Jochen eBraun Multi-stable perception balances stability and sensitivity Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience adaptation Model Binocular Rivalry Multi-stability exploitation-exploration dilemma |
| title | Multi-stable perception balances stability and sensitivity |
| title_full | Multi-stable perception balances stability and sensitivity |
| title_fullStr | Multi-stable perception balances stability and sensitivity |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multi-stable perception balances stability and sensitivity |
| title_short | Multi-stable perception balances stability and sensitivity |
| title_sort | multi stable perception balances stability and sensitivity |
| topic | adaptation Model Binocular Rivalry Multi-stability exploitation-exploration dilemma |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fncom.2013.00017/full |
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