Binocular motion rivalry in macaque monkeys: eye dominance and tracking eye movements

When the two eyes are exposed to markedly different patterns, perception becomes unstable, falling into oscillations, so that the image of one eye is seen first and then that from the other. With large stimuli the alternation is piecemeal, whilst when small stimuli are used the whole pattern alternates in unison. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a reliable, objective indicator of the perceptual state during binocular rivalry could be developed in the nonhuman primate. Monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were trained to discriminate direction of motion when presented with vertically drifting gratings moving in opposite directions in the two eyes. A high correlation was found between the direction of the slow phase of the optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) elicited by the drifting gratings during rivalry and the direction of motion reported by the monkey even though the gain of the OKN was reduced during rivalry, and the latency was longer. Behavioral eye dominance during rivalry varied significantly over time, between individuals and as a function of interocular contrast differences. Since the direction of tracking eye movements can be used to reliably monitor perceptual state during binocular motion rivalry, the opportunity exists in nonhuman primates to study the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying motion perception during the perceptually ambiguous condition of binocular rivalry.