There is a long history of research into depth percepts from very large disparities, beyond the fusion limit. Such diplopic stimuli have repeatedly been shown to provide reliable depth percepts. A number of researchers have pointed to differences between the processing of small and large disparities, arguing that they are subserved by distinct neural mechanisms. Other studies have pointed to a dichotomy between the processing of 1st- and 2nd-order stimuli. Here we review literature on the full range of disparity processing to determine how well different proposed dichotomies map onto one another, and to identify unresolved issues.

The mainstream of binocular vision research has long been focused on understanding how binocular disparity is used for depth perception. In recent years, researchers have begun to explore how monocular regions in binocularly viewed scenes contribute to our perception of the three-dimensional world. Here we review the field as it currently stands, with a focus on understanding the extent to which the role of monocular regions in depth perception can be understood using extant theories of binocular vision.

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Stereo-transparency is an intriguing, but not well-understood, phenomenon. In the present experiment, we simultaneously manipulated the number of overlaid planes, density of elements, and depth separation between the planes in random dot stereograms to evaluate the constraints on stereoscopic transparency. We used a novel task involving identification of patterned planes among the planes constituting the stimulus. Our data show that observers are capable of segregating up to six simultaneous overlaid surfaces. Increases in element density or number of planes have a detrimental effect on the transparency percept. The effect of increasing the inter-plane disparity is strongly influenced by other stimulus parameters. This latter result can explain a difference in the literature concerning the role of inter-plane disparity in perception of stereo-transparency. We argue that the effects of stimuli parameters on the transparency percept can be accounted for not only by inhibitory interactions, as has been suggested, but also by the inherent properties of disparity detectors.