Characterizing Binocular Rivalry Across the Lifespan

Abstract

Binocular rivalry allows for the unique examination of the neural processes associated with binocular vision by instigating a disruption of normal stereoscopic vision. Although binocular rivalry has been examined extensively in young adults, we know relatively little about its developmental trajectory across the human lifespan. This thesis provides a foundation for characterizing perceptual alternations during binocular rivalry in children and older adults, with a specific emphasis on expanding our understanding of binocular rivalry in older adults. From a theoretical perspective, my studies on aging and binocular rivalry have a specific significance, because unique changes that are known to occur with aging to certain neural mechanisms often associated with characteristics of perceptual alternations allows for the study of aging to serve as a test for many of the current models of binocular rivalry. Overall, my studies provide evidence for a significant transitional period in the binocular visual system at the age of 70 and older, and highlights the developmental trajectories of specific characteristics of binocular rivalry from childhood to senescence.