Abstract: PURPOSE: Contingent on stereo compatibility, two images presented dichopitcally can lead to either binocular integration, thus generating stable stereopsis, or interocular suppression that induces binocular rivalry with bistable perception that alternates between the two images. Here, a series of psychophysical experiments were conducted to investigate the interactions between binocular rivalry and stereopsis.
METHODS: In Experiment 1, observers performed a stereo detection task for stimuli presented in the vicinity of rivalrous vs. non-rivalrous stimuli. In Experiments 2a & 2b, observers were instructed to track binocular rivalry which occurred around stereo vs. non-stereo stimuli.
RESULTS: In Experiment 1, we found that the presence of binocular rivalry inhibited stereopsis with greater inhibition resulting from higher rivalry contrast. In Experiments 2a & 2b, we found that existing stereopsis balanced the dynamics of peripheral binocular rivalry, rendering more equivalent eye dominance.
CONCLUSIONS: Binocular integration and interocular suppression are interconnected and an overlapping mechanism related to binocular balance may underlie the connection between these two processes, as well as the formation of unified conscious visual representation from binocular inputs.

Key words: binocular integration, binocular rivalry, interocular suppression, stereopsis