Time perception

About: Time perception is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1918 publications have been published within this topic receiving 87020 citations.

Theta oscillation and neuronal activity in rat hippocampus are involved in temporal discrimination of time in seconds.

Abstract: The discovery of time cells revealed that the rodent hippocampus has information regarding time. Previous studies have suggested that the role of hippocampal time cells is to integrate temporally segregated events into a sequence using working memory with time perception. However, it is unclear whether hippocampal cells contribute to time perception itself because most previous studies employed delayed matching-to-sample tasks that did not separately evaluate time perception from working memory processes. Here, we investigated the function of the rat hippocampus in time perception using a temporal discrimination task. In the task, rats had to discriminate between durations of 1 and 3 s to get a reward, and maintaining task-related information as working memory was not required. We found that some hippocampal neurons showed firing rate modulation similar to that of time cells. Moreover, theta oscillation of local field potentials (LFPs) showed a transient enhancement of power during time discrimination periods. However, there were little relationships between the neuronal activities and theta oscillations. These results suggest that both the individual neuronal activities and theta oscillations of LFPs in the hippocampus have a possibility to be engaged in seconds order time perception; however, they participate in different ways.

Emotion and magnitude perception: number and length bisection

Abstract: Studies of the effect of emotional stimuli on time perception have shown that a threatening stimulus produces a temporal lengthening effect compared to a non-threatening stimulus. In order to better understand the mechanisms underlying this emotion-related time distortion, the present study examined distortions in the judgment of other quantities - number and length - under the same emotional conditions as those previously used for time. However, the nature of the presentation of quantities was manipulated by using a sequential and a non-sequential presentation. The participants were thus given a number or a length bisection task in a sequential or a non-sequential modality of stimulus presentation. In each condition, the participants completed trials in which the probe stimulus was followed by either an aversive stimulus or a non-aversive stimulus. The results showed that the quantities were judged longer, with the set of dots judged bigger and the line judged longer, on the trials which contained aversive stimulus, but only when these quantities were presented sequentially. In comparison with the time distortions obtained in time bisection, these distortions in the bisection judgment of sequentially presented quantities suggests that emotion affected the dynamic process of accumulation of units in working memory.

Neuronal Mechanisms that Drive Organismal Aging Through the Lens of Perception.

Abstract: Sensory neurons provide organisms with data about the world in which they live, for the purpose of successfully exploiting their environment. The consequences of sensory perception are not simply limited to decision-making behaviors; evidence suggests that sensory perception directly influences physiology and aging, a phenomenon that has been observed in animals across taxa. Therefore, understanding the neural mechanisms by which sensory input influences aging may uncover novel therapeutic targets for aging-related physiologies. In this review, we examine different perceptive experiences that have been most clearly linked to aging or age-related disease: food perception, social perception, time perception, and threat perception. For each, the sensory cues, receptors, and/or pathways that influence aging as well as the individual or groups of neurons involved, if known, are discussed. We conclude with general thoughts about the potential impact of this line of research on human health and aging.

When Causality Shapes the Experience of Time: Evidence for Temporal Binding in Young Children.

Abstract: It is well-established that the temporal proximity of two events is a fundamental cue to causality. Recent research with adults has shown that this relation is bidirectional: events that are believed to be causally related are perceived as occurring closer together in time—the so-called temporal binding effect. Here we examined the developmental origins of temporal binding. Participants predicted when an event that was either caused by a button press, or preceded by a non-causal signal, would occur. We demonstrate for the first time that children as young as four years are susceptible to temporal binding. Binding occurred both when the button press was executed via intentional action, and when a machine caused it. These results suggest binding is a fundamental, early developing property of perception and grounded in causal knowledge.