The effect of training on sensitivity and stability of double fusion in Panum’s limiting case

Panum’s limiting case is a phenomenon of monocular occlusion in binocular vision. This occurs when one object is occluded by the other object for one eye, but the two objects are both visible for the other eye. Although previous studies have found that vertical gradient of horizontal disparity and cue conflict are two important factors for double fusion, the effect of training on the sensitivity and stability of Panum’s limiting case remains unknown. The current study trained 26 participants for 5 days with several of Panum’s configurations (Gilliam, Frisby, and Wang series). The latency and duration of double fusion were recorded to examine the effects of training on sensitivity and stability of double fusion in Panum’s limiting case. For each level of vertical gradient of horizontal disparity and cue conflict, the latency of double fusion decreased and the duration of double fusion increased with each additional training session. The results showed that vertical gradient of horizontal disparity and cue conflict interacted, and the duration of high cue conflict was significantly shorter than that of medium and low cue conflict for each level of vertical gradient of horizontal disparity. The findings suggest that there is an effect of training for vertical gradient of horizontal disparity and cue conflict in Panum’s limiting case, and that the three factors jointly affect the sensitivity and stability of double fusion.