Early views on binocular rivalry

Contributions from 19th Century scholars to binocular rivalry research are well recognized, however, observations concerning the phenomenon commenced centuries earlier and suggest a rich seam of research that is much less well known. This chapter discusses these early investigations, along with conflicting views and observations thereafter. We also discuss the early application of notions of attention and consciousness to rivalry. Such notions have more recently been the subject of concerted investigation into distinguishing brain activity mediating the rivaling states from that underlying visual stimulation. Observations in the literature that preceded this key principle are discussed. We also trace the rivalry studies that followed and note their relevance to current thinking on the phenomenon.