Bi-Stable Perception: Self-Coordinating Brain Regions to Make-Up the Mind

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience

Background:

• Bi-stable perception exemplifies cognitive self-organization, serving as a model for neural decision-making.
• Perceptual bistability involves complex cognitive processes across multiple brain regions, hindering simple localization of function.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and integrate knowledge on the temporo-spatial scales of neural activity in bi-stable perception.
• To identify the need for integrative studies across different research levels and approaches.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of mathematical models, cognitive science, and neuroscience research (single-cell to system-level).
• Inclusion of evidence from human and non-human primate studies.
• Analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography/magnetoencephalography (MEEG) data.

Main Results:

• fMRI reveals activation in large, distant brain networks.
• MEEG data show sub-second oscillatory activity and phase synchrony, particularly in beta and gamma bands.
• Evidence suggests a need for fast, large-scale neural coordination mechanisms to explain findings.

Conclusions:

• Despite diverse evidence, integrative studies on bi-stable perception are scarce.
• Integration across different levels of organization and methodologies is essential for a comprehensive understanding of bi-stable perception.