Sub- and Supra-Second Timing in Auditory Perception: Evidence for Cross-Domain Relationships

Time to inhibit: P300 amplitude differences in individuals with high and low temporal efficiency

Temporal processing and inhibitory control are closely interconnected. This study investigated whether individuals of high and low temporal efficiency display different behavioral and neural patterns while performing an electrophysiological Go/No-Go task. Individuals with lower temporal processing had significantly poorer behavioral performance of the task-slower reaction times to Go stimuli, greater number of omissions, and lower stimulus detectability (lower d-prime value)-than the high temporal efficiency group. Additionally, participants with low temporal efficiency had significantly lower P300 response to correct inhibitions (No-Go stimuli) compared to those with high temporal efficiency. Furthermore, the greater amplitude of the difference wave (No-Go vs Go) in the high temporal efficiency group may suggest superior efficacy of response inhibition and attention control processes in comparison to the low temporal efficiency group. These findings highlight significant differences in inhibitory control at both behavioral and neural levels in young adults differing in temporal processing efficiency.

Chunk Duration Limits the Learning of Multiword Chunks: Behavioral and Electroencephalography Evidence from Statistical Learning

Language comprehension involves the grouping of words into larger multiword chunks. This is required to recode information into sparser representations to mitigate memory limitations and counteract forgetting. It has been suggested that electrophysiological processing time windows constrain the formation of these units. Specifically, the period of rhythmic neural activity (i.e., low-frequency neural oscillations) may set an upper limit of 2-3 sec. Here, we assess whether learning of new multiword chunks is also affected by this neural limit. We applied an auditory statistical learning paradigm of an artificial language while manipulating the duration of to-be-learned chunks. Participants listened to isochronous sequences of disyllabic pseudowords from which they could learn hidden three-word chunks based on transitional probabilities. We presented chunks of 1.95, 2.55, and 3.15 sec that were created by varying the pause interval between pseudowords. In a first behavioral experiment, we tested learning using an implicit target detection task. We found better learning for chunks of 2.55 sec as compared to longer durations in line with an upper limit of the proposed time constraint. In a second experiment, we recorded participants' electroencephalogram during the exposure phase to use frequency tagging as a neural index of statistical learning. Extending the behavioral findings, results show a significant decline in neural tracking for chunks exceeding 3 sec as compared to both shorter durations. Overall, we suggest that language learning is constrained by endogenous time constraints, possibly reflecting electrophysiological processing windows.

Aperiodic activity differences in individuals with high and low temporal processing efficiency

It is known that Temporal Information Processing (TIP) underpins our cognitive functioning. Previous research has focused on the relationship between TIP efficiency and oscillatory brain activity, especially the gamma rhythm; however, non-oscillatory (aperiodic or 1/f) brain activity has often been missed. Recent studies have identified the 1/f component as being important for the functioning of the brain. Therefore, the current study aimed to verify whether TIP efficiency is associated with specific EEG resting state cortical activity patterns, including oscillatory and non-oscillatory (aperiodic) brain activities. To measure individual TIP efficiency, we used two behavioral tasks in which the participant judges the order of two sounds separated by millisecond intervals. Based on the above procedure, participants were classified into two groups with high and low TIP efficiency. Using cluster-based permutation analyses, we examined between-group differences in oscillatory and non-oscillatory (aperiodic) components across the 1-90 Hz range. The results revealed that the groups differed in the aperiodic component across the 30-80 Hz range in fronto-central topography. In other words, participants with low TIP efficiency exhibited higher levels of aperiodic activity, and thus a flatter frequency spectrum compared to those with high TIP efficiency. We conclude that participants with low TIP efficiency display higher levels of 'neural noise', which is associated with poorer quality and speed of neural processing.

A common timing mechanism across different millisecond domains: evidence from perceptual and motor tasks

Temporal information processing (TIP) constitutes a complex construct that underlies many cognitive functions and operates in a few hierarchically ordered time domains. This study aimed to verify the relationship between the tens of milliseconds and hundreds of milliseconds domains, referring to perceptual and motor timing, respectively. Sixty four young healthy individuals participated in this study. They underwent two auditory temporal order judgement tasks to assess their performance in the tens of milliseconds domain; on this basis, groups of high-level performers (HLP) and low-level performers (LLP) were identified. Then, a maximum tapping task was used to evaluate performance in the hundreds of milliseconds domain. The most remarkable result was that HLP achieved a faster tapping rate and synchronised quicker with their "internal clock" during the tapping task than did LLP. This result shows that there is a relationship between accuracy in judging temporally asynchronous stimuli and ability to achieve and maintain the pace of a movement adequate to one's internal pacemaker. This could indicate the strong contribution of a common timing mechanism, responsible for temporal organisation and coordination of behaviours across different millisecond domains.

Dissociable Roles of Theta and Alpha in Sub-Second and Supra-Second Time Reproduction: An Investigation of their Links to Depression and Anxiety

A growing collection of observations has demonstrated the presence of multiple neural oscillations participating in human temporal cognition and psychiatric pathologies such as depression and anxiety. However, there remains a gap in the literature regarding the specific roles of these neural oscillations during interval timing, and how these oscillatory activities might vary with the different levels of mental health. The current study examined the participation of the frontal midline theta and occipital alpha oscillations, both of which are prevalent cortical oscillatory markers frequently reported in working memory and time perception paradigms. Participants performed a time reproduction task in the sub- (400, 600, 800 ms) and supra-second timescales (1600, 1800, 2000 ms) while undergoing scalp EEG recordings. Anxiety and depression levels were measured via self-report mental health inventories. Time–frequency analysis of scalp EEG revealed that both frontal midline and occipital alpha oscillations were engaged during the encoding of the durations. Furthermore, we observed that the correlational relationship between frontal midline theta power and the reproduction performance in the sub-second range was modulated by state anxiety. In contrast, the correlational relationship between occipital alpha and the reproduction performance of supra-second intervals was modulated by depression and trait anxiety. The results offer insights on how alpha and theta oscillations differentially play a role in interval timing and how mental health further differentially relates these neural oscillations to sub- and supra-second timescales.