Frequency Selection for SSVEP-based Binocular Rivalry

Under conditions in which the visual system can not reconcile dissimilar images from the two eyes, perception typically alternates between the two images - a process known as binocular rivalry. Binocular rivalry is a useful experimental paradigm for identifying aspects of neural correlates. Two images flickered at different frequencies as the visual stimulator to left and right eyes respectively so that the response can be recovered from the steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) by time-frequency analysis. SSVEP-based binocular rivalry has potential advantage of registering the alternation in physiological dominance of the two eyes. However, flickering frequency greatly affects its practical applications. This paper presents a method of frequency selection to improve the applicability of SSVEP-based binocular rivalry. Optimal frequency is selected by comparing the stability and the signal-to-noise ratio of SSVEP between different frequencies. The SSVEP-based binocular rivalry with optimal flickering frequency correlates better with the subjects´ report of perceptual dominance