Neuropsychology of timing and time perception

doi:10.1016/j.bandc.2004.09.004

Brain and Cognition

Volume 58, Issue 1, June 2005, Pages 1-8

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2004.09.004 Get rights and content

Abstract

Interval timing in the range of milliseconds to minutes is affected in a variety of neurological and psychiatric populations involving disruption of the frontal cortex, hippocampus, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. Our understanding of these distortions in timing and time perception are aided by the analysis of the sources of variance attributable to clock, memory, decision, and motor-control processes. The conclusion is that the representation of time depends on the integration of multiple neural systems that can be fruitfully studied in selected patient populations.

Section snippets

Acknowledgments

The author is very grateful to Sid Segalowitz for his invitation to edit this special issue on the “Neuropsychology of Timing and Time Perception” and for his continued support and patience throughout all phases of production. Inspiration for this volume also came from the organizers of TENNET XV, Montréal, Canada, June 24–26, 2004 with special thanks to Simon Grondin for assembling an excellent symposium on the “Neural Bases of Timing and Time Perception.”

References (112)

J. Doyon et al.
Distinct contribution of the cortico-striatal and cortico-cerebellar systems to motor skill learning
Neuropsychologia
(2003)
J. Gibbon et al.
Representation of time
Cognition
(1990)
J. Gibbon et al.
Toward a neurobiology of temporal cognition: Advances and challenges
Current Opinions in Neurobiology
(1997)
S. Grimm et al.
Differential processing of duration changes within short and long sounds in humans
Neuroscience Letters
(2004)
E. Hazeltine et al.
Neural mechanisms of timing
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
(1997)
S.H. Hinton et al.
The “internal clocks” of circadian and interval timing
Endeavour
(1997)
R.B. Ivry
The representation of temporal information in perception and motor control
Current Opinion in Neurobiology
(1996)
R.B. Ivry et al.
Temporal control and coordination: The multiple timer model
Brain and Cognition
(2002)
V. Kumari et al.
Schizophrenia Research
(2002)
M.I. Leon et al.
Representation of time by neurons in the posterior parietal cortex of the macaque
Neuron
(2003)

P.A. Lewis et al.

Brain activation patterns during measurement of sub- and supra-second intervals

Neuropsychologia

(2003)

B.K. Lipska et al.

Ibotenic acid lesion of the ventral hippocampus differentially affects dopamine and its metabolites in the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex in the rat

Brain Research

(1992)

C. Malapani et al.

Scalar timing in animals and humans

Learning and Motivation

(2002)

M.S. Matell et al.

Cortico-striatal circuits and interval timing: Coincidence-detection of oscillatory processes

Cognitive Brain Research

(2004)

W.H. Meck

Neuropharmacology of timing and time perception

Cognitive Brain Research

(1996)

W.H. Meck et al.

Dissecting the brain’s internal clock: How frontal-striatal circuitry keeps time and shifts attention

Brain and Cognition

(2002)

D.S. Olton et al.

Separation of hippocampal and amygdaloid involvement in temporal memory dysfunctions

Brain Research

(1987)

D.S. Olton et al.

Attention and the frontal cortex as examined by simultaneous temporal processing

Neuropsychologia

(1988)

C. Papagno et al.

Time estimation in Alzheimer’s disease and the role of the central executive

Brain and Cognition

(2004)

R. Poldrack et al.

Competition among multiple memory systems: Converging evidence from animal and human brain studies

Neuropsychologia

(2003)

W. Richards

Time reproductions by H.M

Acta Psychologia (Amsterdam)

(1973)

Aparicio, P., Diedrichsen, J., & Ivry, R. B. (2005). Effects of unilateral basal ganglia lesions on timing and force...

R.A. Barkely et al.

Time perception and reproduction in young adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Neuropsychology

(2001)

M. Bateson

Interval timing and optimal foraging

A.E. Blewett

Abnormal subjective time experience in depression

British Journal of Psychiatry

(1992)

Brown, S. M., Kieffaber, P. D., Vohs, J. L., Carroll, C. A., Tracy, J. A., & Shekhar, A. (2005). Eye-blink conditioning...

C.V. Buhusi

Dopaminergic mechanisms of interval timing and attention

C.V. Buhusi et al.

Differential effects of methamphetamine and haloperidol on the control of an internal clock

Behavioral Neuroscience

(2002)

Buhusi, C. V., Mocanu, M., & Meck, W. H. (2004). Abnormal memory consolidation of interval timing in rats with ibotenic...

T. Bschor et al.

Time experience and time judgment in major depression, mania and healthy subjects. A controlled study of 93 subjects

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica

(2004)

J.T. Coull et al.

Functional anatomy of the attentional modulation of time estimation

Science

(2004)

J.D. Crystal

Nonlinearities in sensitivity to time: Implications for an oscillator representation of time

J. Diedrichsen et al.

Cerebellar and basal ganglia contributions to interval timing

D.L. Drane et al.

Time perception following unilateral amobarbital injection in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy

Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology

(1999)

Ehrlé, N., & Samson, S. (2005). Auditory discrimination of anisochrony: Influence of the tempo and musical backgrounds...

A.D. Eisler et al.

Subjective time in a patient with neurological impairment

Psychologica

(2001)

B. Elvevag et al.

Duration judgements in patients with schizophrenia

Psychological Medicine

(2004)

D. Epstein

Time and timing in music: Musical and neurological aspects

P. Elsass et al.

Lithium effects on time estimation and mood in manic-melancholic patients. A study of diurnal variations

Acta Psychiatry Scandinavia

(1979)

C.R. Gallistel et al.

Time, rate, and conditioning

Psychological Review

(2000)

J. Gibbon et al.

Scalar timing in memory

Grondin, S., & Girard, C. (2005). About hemispheric differences in the processing of temporal intervals. Brain and...

Harrington, D. L., Boyd, L. A., Mayer, A. R., Sheltraw, D. M., Lee, R. R., Huang, M., et al. (2004). Neural...

D.L. Harrington et al.

Neural underpinnings of temporal processing

Reviews in the Neuroscience

(1999)

D.L. Harrington et al.

Cortical networks underlying mechanisms of time perception

Journal of Neuroscience

(1998)

D.L. Harrington et al.

Does the representation of time depend on the cerebellum. Effect of cerebellar stroke

Brain

(2004)

S.C. Hinton

Neuroimaging approaches to the study of interval timing

Hinton, S. C., & Meck, W. H. (2004). Frontal-striatal circuitry activated by human peak-interval timing in the...

P. Janata et al.

Swinging in the brain: Shared neural substrates for behaviors related to sequencing and music

Nature Neuroscience

(2003)

Jurkowski, A. J., Stepp, E., & Hackley, S. A. (2004). Variable foreperiod deficits in Parkinson’s disease: Dissociation...

Cited by (269)

Prenatal exposure to metal mixtures and childhood temporal processing in the PROGRESS Birth Cohort Study: Modification by childhood obesity
2024, Science of the Total Environment
Children are frequently exposed to various biological trace metals, some essential for their development, while others can be potent neurotoxicants. Furthermore, the inflammatory and metabolic conditions associated with obesity may interact with and amplify the impact of metal exposure on neurodevelopment. However, few studies have assessed the potential modification effect of body mass index (BMI). As a result, we investigated the role of child BMI phenotype on the relationship between prenatal exposure to metal mixtures and temporal processing. Leveraging the PROGRESS birth cohort in Mexico City, children (N = 563) aged 6–9 years completed a Temporal Response Differentiation (TRD) task where they had to hold a lever down for 10–14 s. Blood and urinary metal (As, Pb, Cd, and Mn) measurements were collected from mothers in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. Child BMI z-scores were dichotomized to normal (between −2 and +0.99) and high (≥1.00). Covariate-adjusted weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression models were used to estimate and examine the combined effect of metal biomarkers (i.e., blood and urine) on TRD measures. Effect modification by the child's BMI was evaluated using 2-way interaction terms. Children with a high BMI and greater exposure to the metal mixture during prenatal development exhibited significant temporal processing deficits compared to children with a normal BMI. Notably, children with increased exposure to the metal mixture and higher BMI had a decrease in the percent of tasks completed (β = −10.13; 95 % CI: −19.84, −0.42), number of average holds (β = −2.15; 95 % CI: −3.88, −0.41), longer latency (β = 0.78; 95 % CI: 0.13, 1.44), and greater variability in the standard deviation of the total hold time (β = 2.08; 95 % CI: 0.34, 3.82) compared to normal BMI children. These findings implicate that high BMI may amplify the effect of metals on children's temporal processing. Understanding the relationship between metal exposures, temporal processing, and childhood obesity can provide valuable insights for developing targeted environmental interventions.
The effects of Vagal Nerve Stimulation on time perception in epilepsy patients
2023, Journal of Clinical Neuroscience
In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of switching off stimulation on time perception in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy who underwent Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS). In accordance with the literature, a cognitive battery of tests for motor timing and perceptual timing was utilized. Computerized time perception tests; Paced Motor Timing Test, Duration Discrimination Test, Temporal Reproduction Test, and Time Estimation Test were administered to the patients while VNS was on and off. A total of 14 patients who met the inclusion criteria of 23 VNS patients followed in the Epilepsy Outpatient Clinic were included in the study. In the Temporal Reproduction Test, for time durations of 1000 ms (ms), 2000 ms, 3000 ms, 4000 ms, and 5000 ms the comparison of reported time values between VNS on and VNS off yielded respective p values; p = 0.73, p = 0.03, p = 0.176, p = 0.418, p = 0,873. The reported time is thus significantly shorter only for 2000 ms when the VNS was on. Positive effect of VNS on attention, alertness and focusing are expected to cause acceleration of the internal clock resulting in perceiving time running slower than actual. In our study, it was concluded that the internal clock runs faster when the VNS is on, and time is perceived as running slower than it actually is. This result can also be accepted as an indirect indicator of increased attention in the period when VNS is on.
Time processing in neurological and psychiatric conditions
2023, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
A central question in understanding cognition and pathology-related cognitive changes is how we process time. However, time processing difficulties across several neurological and psychiatric conditions remain seldom investigated. The aim of this review is to develop a unifying taxonomy of time processing, and a neuropsychological perspective on temporal difficulties. Four main temporal judgments are discussed: duration processing, simultaneity and synchrony, passage of time, and mental time travel. We present an integrated theoretical framework of timing difficulties across psychiatric and neurological conditions based on selected patient populations. This framework provides new mechanistic insights on both (a) the processes involved in each temporal judgement, and (b) temporal difficulties across pathologies. By identifying underlying transdiagnostic time-processing mechanisms, this framework opens fruitful avenues for future research.
The role of cerebellum in timing processing: A contingent negative variation study
2023, Neuroscience Letters
Time management is an important aspect of human behaviour and cognition. Several brain regions are thought to be involved in motor timing and time estimation tasks. However, subcortical regions such as the basal nuclei and cerebellum seem to play a role in timing control.
The aim of this study was to investigate the role of the cerebellum in temporal processing. For this purpose, we transitorily inhibited cerebellar activity by means of cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and studied the effects of this inhibition on contingent negative variation (CNV) parameters elicited during a S1-S2 motor task in healthy subjects.
Sixteen healthy subjects underwent a S1-S2 motor task prior to and after cathodal and sham cerebellar tDCS in separate sessions. The CNV task consisted of a duration discrimination task in which subjects had to determine whether the duration of a probe interval trial was shorter (800 ms), longer (1600 ms), or equal to the target interval of 1200 ms.
A reduction in total CNV amplitude emerged only after cathodal tDCS for short and target interval trials, while no differences were detected for the long interval trial. Errors were significantly higher after cathodal tDCS than at baseline evaluation of short and target intervals. No reaction time differences were found for any time interval after the cathodal and sham sessions.
These results point to a role of the cerebellum in time perception. In particular, the cerebellum seems to regulate temporal interval discrimination for second and sub-second ranges.
Musical tempo affects EEG spectral dynamics during subsequent time estimation
2023, Biological Psychology
The perception of time depends on the rhythmicity of internal and external synchronizers. One external synchronizer that affects time estimation is music. This study aimed to analyze the effects of musical tempi on EEG spectral dynamics during subsequent time estimation. Participants performed a time production task after (i) silence and (ii) listening to music at different tempi –90, 120, and 150 bpm– while EEG activity was recorded. While listening, there was an increase in alpha power at all tempi compared to the resting state and an increase of beta at the fastest tempo. The beta increase persisted during the subsequent time estimations, with higher beta power during the task after listening to music at the fastest tempo than task performance without music. Spectral dynamics in frontal regions showed lower alpha activity in the final stages of time estimations after listening to music at 90- and 120-bpm than in the silence condition and higher beta in the early stages at 150 bpm. Behaviorally, the 120 bpm musical tempo produced slight improvements. Listening to music modified tonic EEG activity that subsequently affected EEG dynamics during time production. Music at a more optimal rate could have benefited temporal expectation and anticipation. The fastest musical tempo may have generated an over-activated state that affected subsequent time estimations. These results emphasize the importance of music as an external stimulus that can affect brain functional organization during time perception even after listening.
The striatum in time production: The model of Huntington's disease in longitudinal study
2023, Neuropsychologia
The unified model of time processing suggests that the striatum is a central structure involved in all tasks that require the processing of temporal durations. Patients with Huntington's disease exhibit striatal degeneration and a deficit in time perception in interval timing tasks (i.e. for duration ranging from hundreds of milliseconds to minutes), but whether this deficit extends to time production remains unclear. In this study, we investigated whether symptomatic patients (HD, N = 101) or presymptomatic gene carriers (Pre-HD, N = 31) of Huntington's disease had a deficit in time production for durations between 4 and 10 s compared to healthy controls and whether this deficit developed over a year for patients. We found a clear deficit in temporal production for HD patients, whereas Pre-HD performed similarly to Controls. For HD patients and Pre-HD participants, task performance was correlated with grey matter volume in the amygdala and caudate, bilaterally. These results confirm that the striatum is involved in interval timing not only in perception but also in production, in accordance with the unified model of time processing. Furthermore, exploratory factor analyses on our data indicated that temporal production was associated with clinical assessments of psychomotor and executive functions. Finally, when retested twelve months later, the deficit of HD patients remained stable, although striatal degeneration was more pronounced. Thus, the simple, short and language-independent temporal production task may be a useful clinical tool to detect striatal degeneration in patients in early stages of Huntington's disease. However, its usefulness to detect presymptomatic stages or for monitoring the evolution of HD over a year seems limited.

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

IntroductionNeuropsychology of timing and time perception

Abstract

Section snippets

Acknowledgments

Neuropsychologia

Cognition

Current Opinions in Neurobiology

Neuroscience Letters

Trends in Cognitive Sciences

Endeavour

Current Opinion in Neurobiology

Brain and Cognition

Schizophrenia Research

Neuron

Neuropsychologia

Brain Research

Learning and Motivation

Cognitive Brain Research

Cognitive Brain Research

Brain and Cognition

Brain Research

Neuropsychologia

Brain and Cognition

Neuropsychologia

Acta Psychologia (Amsterdam)

Time perception and reproduction in young adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Neuropsychology

Interval timing and optimal foraging

Abnormal subjective time experience in depression

British Journal of Psychiatry

Dopaminergic mechanisms of interval timing and attention

Differential effects of methamphetamine and haloperidol on the control of an internal clock

Behavioral Neuroscience

Time experience and time judgment in major depression, mania and healthy subjects. A controlled study of 93 subjects

Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica

Functional anatomy of the attentional modulation of time estimation

Science

Nonlinearities in sensitivity to time: Implications for an oscillator representation of time

Cerebellar and basal ganglia contributions to interval timing

Time perception following unilateral amobarbital injection in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy

Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology

Subjective time in a patient with neurological impairment

Psychologica

Duration judgements in patients with schizophrenia

Psychological Medicine

Time and timing in music: Musical and neurological aspects

Lithium effects on time estimation and mood in manic-melancholic patients. A study of diurnal variations

Acta Psychiatry Scandinavia

Time, rate, and conditioning

Psychological Review

Scalar timing in memory

Neural underpinnings of temporal processing

Reviews in the Neuroscience

Cortical networks underlying mechanisms of time perception

Journal of Neuroscience

Does the representation of time depend on the cerebellum. Effect of cerebellar stroke

Brain

Neuroimaging approaches to the study of interval timing

Swinging in the brain: Shared neural substrates for behaviors related to sequencing and music

Nature Neuroscience

Introduction
Neuropsychology of timing and time perception