Walker, PS; (1976) Psychological and Physiological Processes Underlying Perception and Attention: A Study of Binocular Rivalry. Doctoral thesis , University of London.

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Abstract

This thesis is concerned with an investigation of certain psychological and physiological processes underlying perception and attention. In this context binocular rivalry is selected for close investigation since it has at different times been related to both perception and attention. This relationship is demonstrated by a series of investigations which show that the stimulus that is currently non-dominant in rivalry is nevertheless fully analysed. The nature of rivalry indicates that two complementary visual systems contribute to perception and attention. Whilst one system (superior colliculus - posterior association cortex) is responsible for monitoring unperceived/unattended information and initiating a shift in attention, the other system (geniculo-striate cortex) is concerned with currently perceived/attended information. In the terminology of control theory, these two visual systems contribute to feedforward and feedback control respectively. The interaction between the two is considered to be the correlate of conscious perception and attention, reflecting the sampling of sensory information by a process that matches this information against the expectations based on a model of the world. Confirmation of a number of predictions refines and further anchors the theory to physiological mechanisms.

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