Abstract

Recent and less recent evidence from experimental neuroscience suggests that rhythmic activity in the brain creates processing windows for sensory perception. In other words, perception might be implemented as a discrete mechanism, a rapid series of perceptual snapshots reflecting the cycles of underlying brain rhythms. Interestingly, these discrete snapshots have direct perceptual consequences that can sometimes be experienced as visual illusions. We review here the most prominent illusions caused by discrete sampling: the wagon wheel illusion, the flickering wheel illusion and the triple-flash illusion. In addition, we surmise that other illusory phenomena display temporal properties that may also be accounted for by discrete perceptual sampling.