Third-Eye Rivalry

Regan M Gallagher; Naotsugu Tsuchiya

doi:10.1177/2041669520927722

Third-Eye Rivalry

Iperception. 2020 Jul 30;11(4):2041669520927722. doi: 10.1177/2041669520927722. eCollection 2020 Jul-Aug.

Authors

Regan M Gallagher¹, Naotsugu Tsuchiya²

Affiliations

¹ School of Psychological Science, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
² School of Psychological Science, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Osaka, Japan; Department of Dynamic Brain Imaging (DBI), Advanced Telecommunications Research Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, Kyoto, Japan.

Abstract

We showcase an optical phenomenon that we call Third-Eye Rivalry. The effect is most easily induced by viewing one's own reflection in a mirror. Using the pupil of the opposing eye as a fixation target, people can easily cross their eyes in free fusion to experience vivid rivalry. The resulting percept is of a prominent central "third" eye and two peripheral faces rivaling for perceptual dominance. We illustrate the process of achieving third-eye rivalry and discuss historical connotations of the third eye in scientific and mystical contexts.

Keywords: binocular rivalry; conscious perception; cyclopean eye; third eye.