The Necker Cube and the Rubin vase, two examples of multistability.
Multistability is a system property. It refers to systems that are neither stable nor totally instable, but that alternate between two or more mutually exclusive states over time. Multistable systems are very sensitive towards noise, initial condition and system parameter. In vision science, multistable perception characterizes the wavering percepts that can be brought about by certain visually ambiguous pattern such as the Necker cube, monocular rivalry or binocular rivalry. Through lateral inhibition, a pattern in which one image, when stimulated, inhibit the activity of neighboring images.