Imagine watching a visual illusion that constantly switches between two different images. This phenomenon, called multistable perception, allows researchers to explore how our brain processes and integrates sensory information. As we age, however, these processes start to slow down, resulting in fewer perceptual reversals. To understand the neural changes underlying this effect, scientists conducted a study using electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain activity in older and younger adults during multistable perception tasks. They found that older adults exhibited compensatory alpha activity in various brain regions compared to young adults. This increased alpha activity may reflect the recruitment of additional neural networks to maintain stable percepts. The findings suggest that older adults adapt by employing additional resources to compensate for age-related changes in perceptual processing. These insights into the aging brain’s ability to adapt highlight the remarkable flexibility of our neural circuits. To learn more about this fascinating research and the effects of age on multistable perception, read the full article!

Multistable stimuli lead to the perception of two or more alternative perceptual experiences that spontaneously reverse from one to the other. This property allows researchers to study perceptual processes that endogenously generate and integrate perceptual information. These endogenous processes appear to be slowed down around the age of 55 where participants report significantly lower perceptual reversals. This study aimed to identify neural correlates of this aging effect during multistable perception utilizing a multistable version of the stroboscopic alternative motion paradigm (SAM: endogenous task) and a control condition (exogenous task). Specifically, age-related differences in perceptual destabilization and maintenance processes were examined through alpha responses. Electroencephalography (EEG) of 12 older and 12 young adults were recorded during SAM and control tasks. Alpha band activity (8–14 Hz) was obtained by wavelet-transformation of the EEG signal and analyzed for each experimental condition. Endogenous reversals induced gradual decrease in posterior alpha activity in young adults which is a replication of previous studies’ findings. Alpha desynchronization was shifted to anterior areas and prevalent across the cortex except the occipital area for older adults. Alpha responses did not differ between the groups in the control condition. These findings point to recruitment of compensatory alpha networks for maintenance of endogenously generated percepts. Increased number of networks responsible for maintenance might have extended the neural satiation duration and led to decreased reversal rates in older adults.

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