Elaborative rehearsal of nontemporal information interferes with temporal processing of durations in the range of seconds but not milliseconds

Order effects in stimulus discrimination challenge established models of comparative judgement: A meta-analytic review of the Type B effect

This paper provides a comprehensive review of the Type B effect (TBE), a phenomenon reflected in the observation that discrimination sensitivity varies with the order of stimuli in comparative judgment tasks, such as the two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) paradigm. Specifically, when the difference threshold is lower (higher) with the constant standard preceding rather than following the variable comparison, one speaks of a negative (positive) TBE. Importantly, prominent psychophysical difference models such as signal detection theory (Green & Swets, 1966) cannot easily account for the TBE, and are hence challenged by it. The present meta-analysis provides substantial evidence for the TBE across various stimulus attributes, suggesting that the TBE is a general feature of discrimination experiments when standard and comparison are presented successively. Thus, inconsistent with psychophysical difference models, subjective differences between stimuli are not merely a function of their physical differences but rather also depend on their temporal order. From the literature, we identify four classes of potential candidate theories explaining the origin of the TBE, namely (1) differential weighting of the stimulus magnitudes at the two positions (e.g., Hellström, Psychological Research, 39, 345-388 1977), (2) internal reference formation (e.g., Dyjas, Bausenhart, & Ulrich, Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 74, 1819-1841 2012), (3) Bayesian updating (e.g., de Jong, Akyürek, & van Rijn, Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 28, 1183-1190 2021), and (4) biased threshold estimation (García-Pérez & Alcalá-Quintana, Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 72, 1155-1178 2010). As these models, to some extent, make differential predictions about the direction of the TBE, investigating the respective boundary conditions of positive and negative TBEs might be a valuable perspective for diagnostic future research.

The perceptual timescape: Perceptual history on the sub-second scale

There is a high-capacity store of brief time span (∼1000 ms) which information enters from perceptual processing, often called iconic memory or sensory memory. It is proposed that a main function of this store is to hold recent perceptual information in a temporally segregated representation, named the perceptual timescape. The perceptual timescape is a continually active representation of change and continuity over time that endows the perceived present with a perceived history. This is accomplished primarily by two kinds of time marking information: time distance information, which marks all items of information in the perceptual timescape according to how far in the past they occurred, and ordinal temporal information, which organises items of information in terms of their temporal order. Added to that is information about connectivity of perceptual objects over time. These kinds of information connect individual items over a brief span of time so as to represent change, persistence, and continuity over time. It is argued that there is a one-way street of information flow from perceptual processing either to the perceived present or directly into the perceptual timescape, and thence to working memory. Consistent with that, the information structure of the perceptual timescape supports postdictive reinterpretations of recent perceptual information. Temporal integration on a time scale of hundreds of milliseconds takes place in perceptual processing and does not draw on information in the perceptual timescape, which is concerned with temporal segregation, not integration.

Effect of tempo on the age-related changes in temporal expectation driven by rhythms

Temporal expectation refers to the capacity to allocate resources at a particular point in time, enabling us to enhance our behavior performance. Empirical evidence indicates that, among younger adults, temporal expectation can be driven by rhythm (i.e., regular sequences of stimuli). However, whether there are age-related changes in rhythm-based temporal expectation has not been clearly established. Furthermore, whether tempo can influence the relationship between rhythm-based temporal expectation and aging remains unexplored. To address these questions, both younger and older participants took part in a rhythm-based temporal expectation task, engaging three distinct tempos: 600 ms (fast), 1800 ms (moderate), or 3000 ms (slow). The results demonstrated that temporal expectation effects (i.e., participants exhibited significantly faster responses during the regular trials compared to the irregular trials) were observed in both the younger and older participants under the moderate tempo condition. However, in the fast and slow tempo conditions, the temporal expectation effects were solely observed in the younger participants. These findings revealed that rhythm-based temporal expectations can be preserved during aging but within a specific tempo range. When the tempo falls within the range of either being too fast or too slow, it can manifest age-related declines in temporal expectations driven by rhythms.

Visual movement impairs duration discrimination at short intervals

The classic advantage of audition over vision in time processing has been recently challenged by studies using continuously moving visual stimuli such as bouncing balls. Bouncing balls drive beat-based synchronisation better than static visual stimuli (flashes) and as efficiently as auditory ones (beeps). It is yet unknown how bouncing balls modulate performance in duration perception. Our previous study addressing this was inconclusive: there were no differences among bouncing balls, flashes, and beeps, but this could have been due to the fact that intervals were too long to allow sensitivity to modality (visual vs auditory). In this study, we conducted a first experiment to determine whether shorter intervals elicit cross-stimulus differences. We found that short (mean 157 ms) but not medium (326 ms) intervals made duration perception worse for bouncing balls compared with flashes and beeps. In a second experiment, we investigated whether the lower efficiency of bouncing balls was due to experimental confounds, lack of realism, or movement. We ruled out the experimental confounds and found support for the hypothesis that visual movement-be it continuous or discontinuous-impairs duration perception at short interval lengths. Therefore, unlike beat-based synchronisation, duration perception does not benefit from continuous visual movement, which may even have a detrimental effect at short intervals.

Cerebellar transcranial magnetic stimulation in psychotic disorders: intermittent, continuous, and sham theta-burst stimulation on time perception and symptom severity

Background

The cerebellum contributes to the precise timing of non-motor and motor functions, and cerebellum abnormalities have been implicated in psychosis pathophysiology. In this study, we explored the effects of cerebellar theta burst stimulation (TBS), an efficient transcranial magnetic stimulation protocol, on temporal discrimination and self-reported mood and psychotic symptoms.

Methods

We conducted a case-crossover study in which patients with psychosis (schizophrenias, schizoaffective disorders, or bipolar disorders with psychotic features) were assigned to three sessions of TBS to the cerebellar vermis: one session each of intermittent (iTBS), continuous (cTBS), and sham TBS. Of 28 enrolled patients, 26 underwent at least one TBS session, and 20 completed all three. Before and immediately following TBS, participants rated their mood and psychotic symptoms and performed a time interval discrimination task (IDT). We hypothesized that cerebellar iTBS and cTBS would modulate these measures in opposing directions, with iTBS being adaptive and cTBS maladaptive.

Results

Reaction time (RT) in the IDT decreased significantly after iTBS vs. Sham (LS-mean difference = -73.3, p = 0.0001, Cohen's d = 1.62), after iTBS vs. cTBS (LS-mean difference = -137.6, p < 0.0001, d = 2.03), and after Sham vs. cTBS (LS-mean difference = -64.4, p < 0.0001, d = 1.33). We found no effect on IDT accuracy. We did not observe any effects on symptom severity after correcting for multiple comparisons.

Conclusion

We observed a frequency-dependent dissociation between the effects of iTBS vs. cTBS to the cerebellar midline on the reaction time of interval discrimination in patients with psychosis. iTBS showed improved (adaptive) while cTBS led to worsening (maladaptive) speed of response. These results demonstrate behavioral target engagement in a cognitive dimension of relevance to patients with psychosis and generate testable hypotheses about the potential therapeutic role of cerebellar iTBS in this clinical population.

Clinical Trial Registration

clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT02642029.

Space is a late heuristic of elapsing time: New evidence from the STEARC effect

To get a concrete representation of its intangible flow, culture frames elapsing time along spatially oriented mental or graphical lines, which are organised according to reading habits, from left to right in western cultures. One of the strongest evidence for this spatial representation of time is the STEARC effect (Spatial-Temporal Association of Response Codes), which consists of faster coding of "short" durations with motor responses in the left side of space and of "long" durations with responses in the right side. Here, we investigated the STEARC as a function of response speed in two different experiments in healthy participants. Surprisingly, in both sub- and supra-second ranges, we found the STEARC only when decisions on time durations were slow, while no spatial representation of time was present with fast decisions. This first demonstrates that space slowly takes over faster non-spatial processing of time flow and that it is possible to empirically separate the behavioural manifestations of the non-spatial and the nurtured spatial mechanisms of time coding.

Auditory time thresholds in the range of milliseconds but not seconds are impaired in ADHD

The literature on time perception in individuals with ADHD is extensive but inconsistent, probably reflecting the use of different tasks and performances indexes. A sample of 40 children/adolescents (20 with ADHD, 20 neurotypical) was engaged in two identical psychophysical tasks measuring auditory time thresholds in the milliseconds (0.25–1 s) and seconds (0.75–3 s) ranges. Results showed a severe impairment in ADHD for milliseconds thresholds (Log10BF = 1.9). The deficit remained strong even when non-verbal IQ was regressed out and correlation with age suggests a developmental delay. In the seconds range, thresholds were indistinguishable between the two groups (Log10BF = − 0.5) and not correlated with milliseconds thresholds. Our results largely confirm previous evidence suggesting partially separate mechanisms for time perception in the ranges of milliseconds and seconds. Moreover, since the evidence suggests that time perception of milliseconds stimuli might load relatively less on cognitive control and working memory, compared to longer durations, the current results are consistent with a pure timing deficit in individuals with ADHD.

Effect of Tempo on Temporal Expectation Driven by Rhythms in Dual-Task Performance

Temporal expectation is the ability to focus attention at a particular moment in time to optimize performance, which has been shown to be driven by regular rhythms. However, whether the rhythm-based temporal expectations rely upon automatic processing or require the involvement of controlled processing has not been clearly established. Furthermore, whether the mechanism is affected by tempo remains unknown. To investigate this research question, the present study used a dual-task procedure. In a single task, the participants were instructed to respond to a visual target preceded by a regular or an irregular visual rhythm under a fast (500 ms) or slow (3,500 ms) tempo. The dual-task simultaneously combined a working memory (WM) task. The results showed temporal expectation effects in which the participants responded faster to the regular than to the irregular conditions in a single task. Moreover, this effect persisted under dual-task interference in the fast tempo condition but was impaired in the slow tempo condition. These results revealed that rhythmic temporal expectation induced by fast tempo was dependent on automatic processing. However, compared with the faster tempo, temporal expectation driven by a slower tempo might involve more controlled processing.

Interval Timing in Pediatric Multiple Sclerosis: Impaired in the Subsecond Range but Unimpaired in the One-Second Range

Background: For adult multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, impaired temporal processing of simultaneity/successiveness has been frequently reported although interval timing has been investigated in neither adult nor pediatric MS patients. We aim to extend previous research in two ways. First, we focus on interval timing (instead of simultaneity/successiveness) and differentiate between sensory-automatic processing of intervals in the subsecond range and cognitive processing of intervals in the one-second range. Second, we investigate whether impaired temporal information processing would also be observable in pediatric MS patients' interval timing in the subsecond and one-second ranges.

Methods: Participants were 22 pediatric MS patients and 22 healthy controls, matched for age, gender, and psychometric intelligence as measured by the Culture Fair Test 20-R. They completed two auditory interval-timing tasks with stimuli in the subsecond and one-second ranges, respectively, as well as a frequency discrimination task.

Results: Pediatric MS patients showed impaired interval timing in the subsecond range compared to healthy controls with a mean difference of the difference limen (DL) of 6.3 ms, 95% CI [1.7, 10.9 ms] and an effect size of Cohen's d = 0.830. The two groups did not differ significantly in interval timing in the one-second range (mean difference of the DL = 26.9 ms, 95% CI [−14.2, 67.9 ms], Cohen's d = 0.399) or in frequency discrimination (mean difference of the DL = 0.4 Hz, 95% CI [−1.1, 1.9 Hz], Cohen's d = 0.158).

Conclusion: The results indicate that, in particular, the sensory-automatic processing of intervals in the subsecond range but not the cognitive processing of longer intervals is impaired in pediatric MS patients. This differential pattern of results is unlikely to be explained by general deficits of auditory information processing. A tentative explanation, to be tested in future studies, points to subcortical deficits in pediatric MS patients, which might also underlie deficits in speech and visuomotor coordination typically reported in pediatric MS patients.

Sports experts' unique perception of time duration based on the processing principle of an integrated model of timing

Background

Duration perception is an essential part of our cognitive and behavioral system, helping us interact with the outside world. An integrated model of timing, which states that the perceived duration of a given stimulus is based on the efficiency of information extraction, was recently set forth to improve current understanding of the representation and judgment of time. However, the prediction from this model that more efficient information extraction results in longer perceived duration has not been tested. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate whether sports experts, as a group of individuals with information extraction superiority in situations relevant to their sport skill, have longer duration perceptions when they view expertise-related stimuli compared with others with no expertise/experience.

Methods

For this study, 81 subjects were recruited based on a prior power analysis. The sports experts group had 27 athletes with years of professional training in diving; a wrestler group and a nonathlete group, with each of these groups having 27 subjects, were used as controls. All participants completed a classic duration reproduction task for subsecond and suprasecond durations with both the diving images and general images involved.

Results

The divers reproduced longer durations for diving stimuli compared with general stimuli under both subsecond and suprasecond time ranges, while the other samples showed the opposite pattern. Furthermore, the years of training in diving were positively correlated with the magnitude of the prolonged reproduction duration when divers viewed diving stimuli. Moreover, the diver group showed a more precise duration perception in subsecond time range for general stimuli compared with the wrestlers and nonathletes.

Conclusion

The results suggest that sports experts perceive longer duration when viewing expertise-related stimuli compared with others with no expertise/experience.

A divergence of sub- and supra-second timing abilities in childhood and its relation to academic achievement

Work with adult humans and nonhuman animals provides evidence that the processing of sub-second (<1 s) and supra-second (>1 s) durations are modulated via distinct cognitive and neural systems; however, few studies have explored the development of these separate systems. Moreover, recent research has identified a link between basic timing abilities and academic achievement, yet it is unclear whether sub-second and supra-second temporal processing may play independent roles in this relation. In the current study, we assessed the development of sub- and supra-second timing across middle childhood and examined how each ability may relate to academic achievement. Child participants (6- to 8-year-olds, n = 111) completed reading and math assessments and a temporal discrimination task that included comparisons in both the sub- and supra-second ranges. Results revealed that younger children performed comparably across the sub- and supra-second ranges, whereas 8-year-olds and adults (n = 72) were relatively better at discriminating durations in the supra-second range. Although discrimination performance in these distinct duration ranges did not uniquely predict math or reading achievement, overall timing abilities were related to math, but not reading, when controlling for age. Together, these data provide evidence for a divergence in timing abilities across sub- and supra-second durations emerging around 8 years of age; however, at least during this stage of development, the relation between children's timing and math achievement is unrelated to this divergence.

The Validity of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Recordings of Visuospatial Working Memory Processes in Humans

Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is increasingly used for investigating cognitive processes. To provide converging evidence for the validity of fNIRS recordings in cognitive neuroscience, we investigated functional activation in the frontal cortex in 43 participants during the processing of a visuospatial working memory (WM) task and a sensory duration discrimination (DD) task functionally unrelated to WM. To distinguish WM-related processes from a general effect of increased task demand, we applied an adaptive approach, which ensured that subjective task demand was virtually identical for all individuals and across both tasks. Our specified region of interest covered Brodmann Area 8 of the left hemisphere, known for its important role in the execution of WM processes. Functional activation, as indicated by an increase of oxygenated and a decrease of deoxygenated hemoglobin, was shown for the WM task, but not in the DD task. The overall pattern of results indicated that hemodynamic responses recorded by fNIRS are sensitive to specific visuospatial WM capacity-related processes and do not reflect a general effect of increased task demand. In addition, the finding that no such functional activation could be shown for participants with far above-average mental ability suggested different cognitive processes adopted by this latter group.

Individual differences in first- and second-order temporal judgment

The ability of subjects to identify and reproduce brief temporal intervals is influenced by many factors whether they be stimulus-based, task-based or subject-based. The current study examines the role individual differences play in subsecond and suprasecond timing judgments, using the schizoptypy personality scale as a test-case approach for quantifying a broad range of individual differences. In two experiments, 129 (Experiment 1) and 141 (Experiment 2) subjects completed the O-LIFE personality questionnaire prior to performing a modified temporal-bisection task. In the bisection task, subjects responded to two identical instantiations of a luminance grating presented in a 4deg window, 4deg above fixation for 1.5 s (Experiment 1) or 3 s (Experiment 2). Subjects initiated presentation with a button-press, and released the button when they considered the stimulus to be half-way through (750/1500 ms). Subjects were then asked to indicate their 'most accurate estimate' of the two intervals. In this way we measure both performance on the task (a first-order measure) and the subjects' knowledge of their performance (a second-order measure). In Experiment 1 the effect of grating-drift and feedback on performance was also examined. Experiment 2 focused on the static/no-feedback condition. For the group data, Experiment 1 showed a significant effect of presentation order in the baseline condition (no feedback), which disappeared when feedback was provided. Moving the stimulus had no effect on perceived duration. Experiment 2 showed no effect of stimulus presentation order. This elimination of the subsecond order-effect was at the expense of accuracy, as the mid-point of the suprasecond interval was generally underestimated. Response precision increased as a proportion of total duration, reducing the variance below that predicted by Weber's law. This result is consistent with a breakdown of the scalar properties of time perception in the early suprasecond range. All subjects showed good insight into their own performance, though that insight did not necessarily correlate with the veridical bisection point. In terms of personality, we found evidence of significant differences in performance along the Unusual Experiences subscale, of most theoretical interest here, in the subsecond condition only. There was also significant correlation with Impulsive Nonconformity and Cognitive Disorganisation in the sub- and suprasecond conditions, respectively. Overall, these data support a partial dissociation of timing mechanisms at very short and slightly longer intervals. Further, these results suggest that perception is not the only critical mitigator of confidence in temporal experience, since individuals can effectively compensate for differences in perception at the level of metacognition in early suprasecond time. Though there are individual differences in performance, these are perhaps less than expected from previous reports and indicate an effective timing mechanism dealing with brief durations independent of the influence of significant personality trait differences.

Visual-auditory differences in duration discrimination depend on modality-specific, sensory-automatic temporal processing: Converging evidence for the validity of the Sensory-Automatic Timing Hypothesis

The Sensory-Automatic Timing Hypothesis assumes visual-auditory differences in duration discrimination to originate from sensory-automatic temporal processing. Although temporal discrimination of extremely brief intervals in the range of tens-of-milliseconds is predicted to depend mainly on modality-specific, sensory-automatic temporal processing, duration discrimination of longer intervals is predicted to require more and more amodal, higher order cognitive resources and decreasing input from the sensory-automatic timing system with increasing interval duration. In two duration discrimination experiments with sensory modality as a within- and a between-subjects variable, respectively, we tested two decisive predictions derived from the Sensory-Automatic Timing Hypothesis: (1) visual-auditory differences in duration discrimination were expected to be larger for brief intervals in the tens-of-milliseconds range than for longer ones, and (2) visual-auditory differences in duration discrimination of longer intervals should disappear when statistically controlled for modality-specific input from the sensory-automatic timing system. In both experiments, visual-auditory differences in duration discrimination were larger for the brief than for the longer intervals. Furthermore, visual-auditory differences observed with longer intervals disappeared when statistically controlled for modality-specific input from the sensory-automatic timing system. Thus, our findings clearly confirmed the validity of the Sensory-Automatic Timing Hypothesis.

Filled and empty motor reproductions of filled and empty intervals: Is there also a filled - reproduction illusion?

Previous studies have demonstrated that filled intervals are perceived as being longer than empty intervals of the same duration (i.e., the filled - duration illusion). In the present study, we asked whether the motor actions involved in filled and empty reproductions (a single continuous key press vs. two discrete key presses) would affect time estimates in a similar way. We hypothesized that reproductions of intervals of the same duration should be shorter for filled than empty reproductions (i.e., a filled - reproduction illusion). In two experiments, participants reproduced filled and empty intervals (ranging from 400 to 1,600 ms) using filled and empty reproductions. The results provided evidence for both kinds of illusions, even though the evidence was clearer for the filled - duration than for the filled - reproduction illusion. The present study demonstrates that in a situation in which both illusions work in concert, reproductions of the same interval can vary dramatically depending on the combination of interval and reproduction type.

Women Overestimate Temporal Duration: Evidence from Chinese Emotional Words

Numerous studies have proven the effect of emotion on temporal perception, using various emotional stimuli. However, research investigating this issue from the lexico-semantic perspective and gender difference remains scarce. In this study, participants were presented with different types of emotional words designed in classic temporal bisection tasks. In Experiment 1 where the arousal level of emotional words was controlled, no pure effect of valence on temporal perception was found; however, we observed the overestimation of women relative to men. Furthermore, in Experiment 2, an orthogonal design of valence and arousal with neutral condition was employed to study the arousal-mechanism of temporal distortion effect and its difference between genders. The results showed that the gender difference observed in Experiment 1 was robust and was not influenced by valence and arousal. Taken together, our findings suggest a stable gender difference in the temporal perception of semantic stimuli, which might be related to some intrinsic properties of linguistic stimuli and sex differences in brain structure as well as physiological features. The automatic processing of time information was also discussed.

Self-Produced Time Intervals Are Perceived as More Variable and/or Shorter Depending on Temporal Context in Subsecond and Suprasecond Ranges

The processing of time intervals is fundamental for sensorimotor and cognitive functions. Perceptual and motor timing are often performed concurrently (e.g., playing a musical instrument). Although previous studies have shown the influence of body movements on time perception, how we perceive self-produced time intervals has remained unclear. Furthermore, it has been suggested that the timing mechanisms are distinct for the sub- and suprasecond ranges. Here, we compared perceptual performances for self-produced and passively presented time intervals in random contexts (i.e., multiple target intervals presented in a session) across the sub- and suprasecond ranges (Experiment 1) and within the sub- (Experiment 2) and suprasecond (Experiment 3) ranges, and in a constant context (i.e., a single target interval presented in a session) in the sub- and suprasecond ranges (Experiment 4). We show that self-produced time intervals were perceived as shorter and more variable across the sub- and suprasecond ranges and within the suprasecond range but not within the subsecond range in a random context. In a constant context, the self-produced time intervals were perceived as more variable in the suprasecond range but not in the subsecond range. The impairing effects indicate that motor timing interferes with perceptual timing. The dependence of impairment on temporal contexts suggests multiple timing mechanisms for the subsecond and suprasecond ranges. In addition, violation of the scalar property (i.e., a constant variability to target interval ratio) was observed between the sub- and suprasecond ranges. The violation was clearer for motor timing than for perceptual timing. This suggests that the multiple timing mechanisms for the sub- and suprasecond ranges overlap more for perception than for motor. Moreover, the central tendency effect (i.e., where shorter base intervals are overestimated and longer base intervals are underestimated) disappeared with motor timing within the subsecond range, suggesting multiple subsecond timing system for perception and motor.

Electrophysiological Indicators of the Age-Related Deterioration in the Sensitivity to Auditory Duration Deviance

The present study investigates age-related changes in duration discrimination in millisecond time domain. We tested young (N = 20, mean age = 24.5, SD = 2.97) and elderly (N = 20, mean age = 65.2, SD = 2.94) subjects using the mismatch negativity (MMN) paradigm. White-noise bursts of two different durations (50 and 10 ms) were presented in two oddball blocks. In one block (Increment Condition), the repetitive sequence of 10 ms standards was interspersed by occasional 50 ms deviants. In the Decrement Condition, the roles of the two stimuli were reversed. We analyzed the P1-N1 complex, MMN and P3a and found the effect of age for all these components. Moreover, the impact of stimulus presentation condition (increment/decrement) was observed for MMN and P3a. Our results confirmed the previous evidence for deteriorated duration discrimination in elderly people. Additionally, we found that this effect may be influenced by procedural factors.

Visual-auditory differences in duration discrimination of intervals in the subsecond and second range

A common finding in time psychophysics is that temporal acuity is much better for auditory than for visual stimuli. The present study aimed to examine modality-specific differences in duration discrimination within the conceptual framework of the Distinct Timing Hypothesis. This theoretical account proposes that durations in the lower milliseconds range are processed automatically while longer durations are processed by a cognitive mechanism. A sample of 46 participants performed two auditory and visual duration discrimination tasks with extremely brief (50-ms standard duration) and longer (1000-ms standard duration) intervals. Better discrimination performance for auditory compared to visual intervals could be established for extremely brief and longer intervals. However, when performance on duration discrimination of longer intervals in the 1-s range was controlled for modality-specific input from the sensory-automatic timing mechanism, the visual-auditory difference disappeared completely as indicated by virtually identical Weber fractions for both sensory modalities. These findings support the idea of a sensory-automatic mechanism underlying the observed visual-auditory differences in duration discrimination of extremely brief intervals in the millisecond range and longer intervals in the 1-s range. Our data are consistent with the notion of a gradual transition from a purely modality-specific, sensory-automatic to a more cognitive, amodal timing mechanism. Within this transition zone, both mechanisms appear to operate simultaneously but the influence of the sensory-automatic timing mechanism is expected to continuously decrease with increasing interval duration.

Oscillatory multiplexing of neural population codes for interval timing and working memory

Interval timing and working memory are critical components of cognition that are supported by neural oscillations in prefrontal-striatal-hippocampal circuits. In this review, the properties of interval timing and working memory are explored in terms of behavioral, anatomical, pharmacological, and neurophysiological findings. We then describe the various neurobiological theories that have been developed to explain these cognitive processes - largely independent of each other. Following this, a coupled excitatory - inhibitory oscillation (EIO) model of temporal processing is proposed to address the shared oscillatory properties of interval timing and working memory. Using this integrative approach, we describe a hybrid model explaining how interval timing and working memory can originate from the same oscillatory processes, but differ in terms of which dimension of the neural oscillation is utilized for the extraction of item, temporal order, and duration information. This extension of the striatal beat-frequency (SBF) model of interval timing (Matell and Meck, 2000, 2004) is based on prefrontal-striatal-hippocampal circuit dynamics and has direct relevance to the pathophysiological distortions observed in time perception and working memory in a variety of psychiatric and neurological conditions.

Hear it playing low and slow: how pitch level differentially influences time perception

Variations in both pitch and time are important in conveying meaning through speech and music, however, research is scant on perceptual interactions between these two domains. Using an ordinal comparison procedure, we explored how different pitch levels of flanker tones influenced the perceived duration of empty interstimulus intervals (ISIs). Participants heard monotonic, isochronous tone sequences (ISIs of 300, 600, or 1200 ms) composed of either one or five standard ISIs flanked by 500 Hz tones, followed by a final interval (FI) flanked by tones of either the same (500 Hz), higher (625 Hz), or lower (400 Hz) pitch. The FI varied in duration around the standard ISI duration. Participants were asked to determine if the FI was longer or shorter in duration than the preceding intervals. We found that an increase in FI flanker tone pitch level led to the underestimation of FI durations while a decrease in FI flanker tone pitch led to the overestimation of FI durations. The magnitude of these pitch-level effects decreased as the duration of the standard interval was increased, suggesting that the effect was driven by differences in mode-switch latencies to start/stop timing. Temporal context (One vs. Five Standard ISIs) did not have a consistent effect on performance. We propose that the interaction between pitch and time may have important consequences in understanding the ways in which meaning and emotion are communicated.

In search of the internal structure of the processes underlying interval timing in the sub-second and the second range: a confirmatory factor analysis approach

One of the earliest accounts of duration perception by Karl von Vierordt implied a common process underlying the timing of intervals in the sub-second and the second range. To date, there are two major explanatory approaches for the timing of brief intervals: the Common Timing Hypothesis and the Distinct Timing Hypothesis. While the common timing hypothesis also proceeds from a unitary timing process, the distinct timing hypothesis suggests two dissociable, independent mechanisms for the timing of intervals in the sub-second and the second range, respectively. In the present paper, we introduce confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to elucidate the internal structure of interval timing in the sub-second and the second range. Our results indicate that the assumption of two mechanisms underlying the processing of intervals in the second and the sub-second range might be more appropriate than the assumption of a unitary timing mechanism. In contrast to the basic assumption of the distinct timing hypothesis, however, these two timing mechanisms are closely associated with each other and share 77% of common variance. This finding suggests either a strong functional relationship between the two timing mechanisms or a hierarchically organized internal structure. Findings are discussed in the light of existing psychophysical and neurophysiological data.

Elucidating the internal structure of psychophysical timing performance in the sub-second and second range by utilizing confirmatory factor analysis

The most influential theoretical account in time psychophysics assumes the existence of a unitary internal clock based on neural counting. The distinct timing hypothesis, on the other hand, suggests an automatic timing mechanism for processing of durations in the sub-second range and a cognitively controlled timing mechanism for processing of durations in the range of seconds. Although several psychophysical approaches can be applied for identifying the internal structure of interval timing in the second and sub-second range, the existing data provide a puzzling picture of rather inconsistent results. In the present chapter, we introduce confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to further elucidate the internal structure of interval timing performance in the sub-second and second range. More specifically, we investigated whether CFA would rather support the notion of a unitary timing mechanism or of distinct timing mechanisms underlying interval timing in the sub-second and second range, respectively. The assumption of two distinct timing mechanisms which are completely independent of each other was not supported by our data. The model assuming a unitary timing mechanism underlying interval timing in both the sub-second and second range fitted the empirical data much better. Eventually, we also tested a third model assuming two distinct, but functionally related mechanisms. The correlation between the two latent variables representing the hypothesized timing mechanisms was rather high and comparison of fit indices indicated that the assumption of two associated timing mechanisms described the observed data better than only one latent variable. Models are discussed in the light of the existing psychophysical and neurophysiological data.

Emotional time distortions: the fundamental role of arousal

An emotion-based lengthening effect on the perception of durations of emotional pictures has been assumed to result from an arousal-based mechanism, involving the activation of an internal clock system. The aim of this study was to systematically examine the arousal effect on time perception when different discrete emotions were considered. The participants were asked to verbally estimate the duration of emotional pictures from the International Affective Picture System (IAPS). The pictures varied either in arousal level, i.e., high/low-arousal, for the same discrete emotion (disgust or sadness) or in the depicted emotion, e.g., disgust/fear for pictures matched for arousal (high-arousal). The results systematically revealed a lengthening effect on the perception of the duration of the emotional compared to the neutral pictures and indicated that the magnitude of this effect increased with arousal level. Nevertheless, variations in time perception were observed for one and the same arousal level, with the duration of disgust-inducing pictures (e.g., body mutilation) being judged longer than that of fear-inducing pictures (e.g., snake). These results suggest that arousal is a fundamental mechanism mediating the effect of emotion on time perception. However, the effect cannot be reduced to arousal, since the impact of the content of pictures also plays a critical role.

Developing a Psychophysical Measure to Assess Duration Discrimination in the Millisecond Range

Duration discrimination in the range of milliseconds is essential for various aspects of behavior and individual differences. The present paper addresses important methodological issues, such as type of stimuli, type of task, method for threshold estimation, and temporal sensitivity of the psychophysical procedure, that should be borne in mind when developing a sensitive and reliable duration discrimination task. Furthermore, it introduces a psychophysical approach for the assessment of individual differences in duration discrimination of extremely brief intervals in the subsecond range. Monte Carlo simulations provide clear evidence that this task is sensitive enough to correctly detect a true difference between temporal stimuli as small as 2 ms with a high probability. Further, the distributional properties of individual performance scores obtained from 534 participants by means of the introduced duration discrimination task are presented.