Time perception

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

Editorial: Sub- and Supra-Second Timing: Brain, Learning and Development.

Abstract: Time perception in the range of milliseconds to a few seconds is essential for many important sensory and perceptual tasks including speech perception, motion perception, motor coordination, and cross-modal interaction. For the brain to be in synchrony with the environment, the physical differences in the speeds of light and sound, as well as stimuli from other modalities such as odors, must be processed and coordinated (Poppel and Bao, 2014; Bao et al., 2015). Time is a subjective feeling that is modulated by emotional states which trigger temporal distortions (temporal dilation vs. contraction; Wittmann, 2016), hence give rise to subjective time that may be different to event time as initially registered in the brain. Recent research suggests that time perception in a multisensory world is subject to prior task experience and shaped by (statistical) learning processes. Humans are active learners. That is, the engagement of the own body in a timing task within a perceptual-action loop will make a noticeable difference in timing performance, as compared to when humans only passively perceive the same perceptual scenario (Chen and Vroomen, 2013). This Research Topic of “Sub- and supra-second timing: brain, learning and development” has integrated 16 submissions of novel research on sub- and supra-timing. We have categorized the papers in this topic into the following four themes, from which we can deduce trends of research about multisensory timing in the sub- and supra-second range.

Stopwatch training improves cognitive functions in patients with Parkinson's disease

Abstract: Parkinson's disease (PD) impairs various cognitive functions, including time perception. Dysfunctional time perception in PD is poorly understood, and no study has investigated the rehabilitation of time perception in patients with PD. We aimed to induce the recovery of time perception in PD patients and investigated the potential relationship between recovery and cognitive functions/domains other than time perception. Sixty patients with PD (27 females) and 20 healthy controls (10 females) were recruited. The participants underwent a feedback training protocol for 4 weeks to improve the accuracy of subjective spatial distance or time duration using a ruler or stopwatch, respectively. They participated in three tests at weekly intervals, each comprising 10 types of cognitive tasks and assessments. After duration feedback training for 1 month, performance on the Go/No-go task, Stroop task, and impulsivity assessment improved in patients with PD, while no effect was observed after distance feedback training. Additionally, the effect of training on duration production correlated with extended reaction time and improved accuracy in the Go/No-go and Stroop tasks. These findings suggest that time perception is functionally linked to inhibitory systems. If the feedback training protocol can modulate and maintain time perception, it may improve various cognitive/psychiatric functions in patients with PD. It may also be useful in the treatment of diseases other than PD that cause dysfunctions in temporal processing.

Binocular locus of brain hemisphere reversal of time information effect in schizophrenia.

Abstract: Investigated brain hemisphere laterality of time information among 60 schizophrenics and 60 nonschizophrenics. Duration estimation of a single dark dot presented to the left, center and right visual fields was studied with respect to an auditory warning signal of variable duration. Three conclusions were drawn: First, the relation between posterior and prior time information was shown to be that of inverse variation, and this relation was intact among schizophrenics. Second, time information was lateralized toward the left hemisphere among nonschizophrenics and toward the right hemisphere among schizophrenics, which indicates hemispheric reversal of time information as a characteristic of schizophrenia. Third, such hemispheric reversal of time information was confined to binocular, therefore, bilateral, stimulus input.

The effect of gender, valence and arousal of Persian emotional words on time perception

Abstract: Introduction: A range of studies have shown that the time perception is influenced by numerous factors. In the present study the hypothesis was that gender and emotional dimensions (valance and arousal) of Persian words influence time perception. Method: fifty-eight volunteer undergraduate female students of the University of Tabriz participated in the experiment. A set of emotional Persian words (in the five dimensions including happy, calm, neutral, angery and sad) were projected to all participants for 800 and 2000 milliseconds (ms) via a computerized test. The participants were asked to reproduce the words. Three-factor ANOVA with repeated measures, one-way ANOVA, paired and independent t- tests were used to analyze the data. Findings: The results rvealed that the rate of error (underestimation) for the long duration was more than the short duration. Coefficient of variation for the happy and calm words was higher than the angery, sad and neutral words. Conclusion: These findings indicate an effect of emotion on time perception. The results are interpreted in the framework of the intentional time perception and arousal time perception models.