The temporal layout of the stimuli.

A. In experiment 1, the temporal limit of binocular rivalry was determined. Stimuli were gabor patches of orthogonal orientation in the two eyes. Ton is the presentation duration of the patterns. Toff is the time between two presentations. Ton and Toff together make up the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA), which is identical for the pattern sequence from left (L) to right (R) eye, and vice versa. B. Experiment 2: dependence on rapid inter-ocular interactions. Parameters as in experiment 1, except that the stimulus in R followed immediately the stimulus in L (or vice versa). Inserting various numbers of blank frames varied the period of repetition. C. Experiment 3: dependence on eye of stimulation. Stimuli in L and R are presented synchronously, but the orientations were swapped between the eyes on every new presentation (see arrows). D. Experiment 4: dependence on contrast polarity. Stimuli as in experiment 1, except that on every new presentation the contrast polarity was reversed (for illustrational purposes indicated with “+” and “−” signs).