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Time Perception

Resources

Dedicated and intrinsic models of time perception (Ivry & Schlerf)

This review explores two major conceptual frameworks for how the passage of time, particularly in the range of hundreds of milliseconds, is perceived. Dedicated models propose that timing relies on specialized, modular neural mechanisms—such as the pacemaker-counter model or spectral models—that represent the temporal relationship between events. Evidence favoring this view includes the observation that our sense of time transcends sensory modality, suggesting a common internal clock, and behavioral data showing correlations between temporal acuity in perception and action. Neural candidates for dedicated systems include the cerebellum (the cerebellar timing hypothesis), basal ganglia, supplementary motor area, and prefrontal cortex. Intrinsic models offer a radically different perspective, suggesting that time is an ubiquitous property inherent in the dynamics of non-dedicated neural mechanisms, arising as part of modality-specific processing or encoded in neural activity magnitude (energy readout) or spatial patterns across a network (state-dependent network). Physiological studies providing support for intrinsic timing emphasize local, modality-specific representations, such as activity in area LIP for visual duration discrimination or V5/MT for visual timing. The review notes that while both models have support, intrinsic models face challenges in accounting for phenomena like crossmodal transfer and deficits caused by focal brain lesions.

The embodiment of time: How interoception shapes the perception of time (Wittmann & Meissner)

This chapter presents the framework of the embodiment of time, accumulating evidence that subjective time emerges through bodily processes and interoception, particularly for durations in the multiple-second range. The subjective impression of duration is suggested to be based on the accumulation of physiological changes in body states. The traditional cognitive pacemaker-accumulator model for time perception is discussed, noting that attention (opening an attentional gate for temporal units) and increased physiological arousal (higher pacemaker rate) lead to an expansion of experienced duration. Supporting the embodiment concept, fMRI studies show climbing neural activation patterns in the posterior insular cortex correlating with stimulus duration during time-estimation tasks (e.g., 3, 9, and 18 seconds). The posterior insula is identified as the primary interoceptive area. Furthermore, empirical data demonstrate that individuals with better interoceptive accuracy (e.g., measured by heartbeat perception tasks) perform more accurately in duration reproduction tasks. The strong link between emotional arousal and time perception suggests that emotions, which are embodied states, are relevant to the accumulator mechanism, often through their effects on attention or physiological arousal.

Important

  • Precise time – is necessary for almost anything we are able to do.
  • Pacemaker-accumulator model – is the dominant model for perception of longer time durations (minutes and hours).
  • Attention and arousal – are the two important factors that determine time perception in the cognitive pacemaker-accumulator model.
  • Pulses – are actually interoceptive information, representing physiological changes in the body.
  • Conflicting predictions solution – the two proposed mechanisms (attention and arousal) influencing time experience are not necessarily mutually exclusive but may contribute in an additive way.

Core concepts

  • Time Perception Peculiarities: The “sense of time” is unusual among our senses because time is intangible, there is no specialized sense organ for time perception, and perceptual time is not isomorphic (identical) to physical time.
  • Time Scales: Researchers categorize time perception into multiple timescales: Circadian rhythms (approximately 24 hours), perception of the passage of time (minutes, hours), and Short time durations or Precise timing (typically subsecond, sometimes a few seconds).
  • Precise Timing Necessity: Precise timing is crucial for functions such as sound localization (relying on interaural time difference) and categorical perception in speech processing (relying on Voice Onset Time, or VOT).
  • Dedicated Models (Precise Timing): Propose the existence of a specialized, exclusively dedicated mechanism for measuring duration, with the paradigmatic example being the pacemaker-accumulator model. Hypothesized locations include the cerebellum, basal ganglia, supplementary motor area, right prefrontal cortex, or a distributed network of regions.
  • Intrinsic Models (Precise Timing): Propose that time is inherently encoded in neural dynamics, asserting there is no specialized brain system for this purpose. Examples include duration being encoded in the magnitude of neural activity (energy readout) and observations of climbing activation (gradual increase in neural discharge rate toward the onset of an expected stimulus).
  • Cognitive Pacemaker-Accumulator Model (Longer Intervals): This dominant model for minutes and hours posits an internal clock where a pacemaker emits signals (“pulses”) continuously, which are counted by an accumulator, and the accumulated number represents the experienced duration.
  • Role of Attention and Arousal: These are the two crucial modulators of subjective time in the model: Attention to the passage of time means pulses are registered by the accumulator, leading to longer perceived duration; high arousal increases the pacemaker’s frequency of emitted pulses, also leading to longer perceived duration.
  • Interoception and Pulses: The accumulated “pulses” are hypothesized to be interoceptive information—the perception of sensations related to internal organ function and autonomic nervous system activity (e.g., heartbeat, respiration).

Theories and Frameworks

  • Pacemaker-accumulator model: A timing model where a pacemaker emits pulses continuously, and an accumulator counts these pulses, determining the experienced duration.
  • James–Lange theory of emotion: An early theory suggesting that emotions depend on visceral and somatosensory feedback from the peripheral nervous system (stimulus leads to autonomic arousal, which leads to conscious feeling).
  • Cannon-Barr’s theory: A theory of emotion proposing that a stimulus leads to subcortical brain activity, resulting in simultaneous autonomic arousal and conscious experience of fear.
  • Schachter’s theory: A recent theory proposing that a stimulus leads to autonomic arousal, followed by an appraisal of that arousal, which then leads to a conscious emotion.
  • Predictive processing: A framework suggesting the brain predicts itself to be in specific states; in the context of time, waking up just before an alarm might be the brain reducing a prediction error.

Notable Individuals

  • Carl Lange: Proposed the James-Lange theory, stating a stimulus leads to autonomic arousal, then conscious feeling.
  • William James: Proposed the James-Lange theory, stating a stimulus leads to autonomic arousal, then conscious feeling.
  • Schachter: Proposed a theory of emotion involving stimulus, autonomic arousal, and then appraisal of the arousal leading to a conscious emotion.
  • Munsterberg: Suggested that short intervals might be directly perceived by sensory mechanisms.