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Poster Session A: Tuesday, August 12, 1:30 – 4:30 pm, de Brug & E‑Hall

Dynamical changes in functional organization resolve ambiguous motion perception

Alessandra Pizzuti¹, Irene Acero Pousa, Omer Faruk Gulban, Judith Carolien Peters, Gustavo Deco, Rainer Goebel; ¹Maastricht University

Presenter: Alessandra Pizzuti

Visual perception typically aligns with sensory input, but under bistable conditions, identical stimuli can lead to alternating percepts. While prior work has emphasized perceptual switches, less is known about how the brain stabilizes perception post-switch. Using 7T fMRI, we studied nine participants viewing a bistable motion quartet that induced spontaneous alternations between vertical and horizontal motion. Perceptual transitions involved dynamic interactions between hMT+ and frontoparietal regions (area 46, PF, PFm), while sustained perception engaged hMT+ and the intraparietal areas. Computational modeling revealed increased hierarchical complexity during ambiguity resolution, with frontal and parietal regions ascending in the functional hierarchy. These findings offer important constraints for modeling how the brain organizes itself to resolve perceptual ambiguity, and more broadly, how it supports conscious experience.

Topic Area: Visual Processing & Computational Vision

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