A chaotic attractor model of cognitive multistability

A coupled attention-perception model of cognitive multistability is described. It quantitatively simulates the spontaneous reversals between the two percepts of an ambiguous visual stimulus. The perception state is formalized as the phase variable of a recursive cosinusoidal map with two control parameters mu = difference of meaning and G ~ attention. The mapping function is related to the mean field theory of temporal binding. It is represented by an interferometric equivalent circuit (contrast mu) with delayed phase feedback (delay T) and adaptive gain (~ G(t)) which models attention saturation. For small damping time constant tau (as compared to T) the coupled attention-perception dynamics is characterized by limit cycle oscillations and chaotic attractors. Analysis of simulated time series yields the experimentally observed Gamma- distribution of the reversal time statistics. Mean reversal times of 3 - 5 s as reported in the literature, are correctly predicted if T is associated with primary visual cortex (VI) response delay of ap 40 ms