EEG signs of vigilance fluctuations preceding perceptual flips in multistable illusionary motion.

This EEG study was performed to clarify the time course of brain electrical events and possible vigilance changes associated with perceptual flips during multistable perception. 13 healthy subjects (28.5 3.8 years) were recorded with a 21-channel digital EEG during a stroboscopic alternative motion paradigm implying illusionary motion with ambiguous direction. Perceptual flips were preceded by a significant decrease of EEG frequencies, and followed by a significant frequency increase with a trend to overshoot. EEG slowing is a reliable sign of vigilance decrease and can be related to thalamic deactivation. This is consistent with a recent fMRI study, which showed thalamic deactivation associated with perceptual flips. The study added important chronological information about this phenomenon and allows the conclusion that reduced vigilance facilitates perceptual discontinuities during multistable perception.