[Binocular rivalry in half-occluded region is weakened by eye movement]

To investigate the effect of eye movement on suppression of binocular rivalry in the half-occluded region, which is the monocular region made by occlusion, the amount of binocular rivalry in the half-occluded region was measured in the eye movement condition and the fixating condition. In the eye movement condition, the observer moved their eyes between the occluder and the occluded object. In the fixating condition, the observers fixated the occluder (the fixating-the-occluder condition) or the occluded object (the fixating-the-occluded-object condition). Following facts were found: (a) the amount of binocular rivalry in the half-occluded region reduced more in the eye movement condition than in the two fixating conditions, (b) there was no significant difference in the amount of binocular rivalry in the half-occluded region between the two fixating conditions. These results suggested that eye movement is one of the factors to suppress binocular rivalry in the half-occluded region in natural viewing situations.