Tempometry lab: Psychology of subjective time

Just became aware of this lab that studies the psychology of subjective time. Link to the labs blog is here.

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The good and bad news on time perception research

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Key Research Article: Timing and Time Perception Review

The following is a nice review of manly corners of the human timing research has been added to the Brain Clock Key Research Articles blogroll. Enjoy. Click on images to enlarge.











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Time perception and happiness. Time expanders happier than futurists, reminiscers, and time restricters

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time perception happiness

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Research byte: Population clocks model of motor timing (Buonomano & Laje, 2010)

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Buonomano and Laje (2010) have presented an interesting description of a population clocks model to explain motor timing. The article is a hard read....and if it is too difficult, just do what I did....enjoy the lovely graphic figures. Seriously...this is an important contribution to understanding motor timing in motor performance. I will need to digest it more than once. Probably the most useful aspect of the article is the nice intro overview of the various theoretical models that have been advanced to explain the human brain clock.



The PDF article includes highlights and notes as per the IQs Reading blog feature.

The article will be added to the Key Research Articles section of this blog.


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mental timing IQ Brain Clock brain clock temporal processing metronome mental time-keeping brain timing educational psychology school psychology special education neuropsychology neuroscience neurology brain rhythm rhythm processing rhythm perception intelligence cognitive abilities population timing clocks motor coordination motor timing

More research on possible brain centers of "IQ brain clock" and pacemaker-accummulator model of time-keeping

Wittmann, M., Simmons, A. N., Aron, J. L., & Paulus, M. P. (2010). Accumulation of neural activity in the posterior insula encodes the passage of time. Neuropsychologia, 48(10), 3110-3120.


Abstract

• A number of studies have examined the perception of time with durations ranging from milliseconds to a few seconds, however the neural basis of these processes are still poorly understood and the neural substrates underlying the perception of multiple-second intervals are unknown. Here we present evidence of neural systems activity in circumscribed areas of the human brain involved in the encoding of intervals with durations of 9 and 18 s in a temporal reproduction task using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). During the encoding there was greater activation in more posterior parts of the medial frontal and insular cortex whereas the reproduction phase involved more anterior parts of these brain structures. Intriguingly, activation curves over time show an accumulating pattern of neural activity, which peaks at the end of the interval within bilateral posterior insula and superior temporal cortex when individuals are presented with 9- and 18-s tone intervals. This is consistent with an accumulator-type activity, which encodes duration in the multiple seconds range. Given the close connection between the dorsal posterior insula and ascending internal body signals, we suggest that the accumulation of physiological changes in body states constitutes our experience of time. This is the first time that an accumulation function in the posterior insula is detected that might be correlated with the encoding of time intervals.

Select quotes from discussion [blog master comments in brackets.  Links inserted by blog master]

• This study examined the neural substrates that underlie the processing of time in the seconds domain. In particular, activation was observed in brain regions related to the encoding and reproduction of time intervals which have been implicated as core neural substrates of time-keeping systems, notably the supplementary motor area, the striatum, cerebellum, the right frontal lobe, the inferior parietal gyrus, the posterior temporal cortex as well as the insula (Lewis & Miall, 2003a, 2003b; Rubia & Smith, 2004; Wiener et al., 2010; Wittmann, 1999).[Click here and here for prior posts related to possible underlying brain locations/structures of "brain clock"]

• It seems as if the more posterior regions of the brain are instrumental in coding the duration of a presented interval and that many distributed (more anterior) regions of the brain are involved in keeping a representation of that interval for further processing (pressing the button at the right moment in time).

• The main finding of this study is that the BOLD fMRI results support an integrator-like neuronal function over time involved in the representation of duration in humans. The pattern of activation for the 3-s interval differed from that observed for the longer intervals. This suggests that the perception of duration for shorter durations(up to 3 s) might rely on different brain areas (recruiting sensorimotor systems of the brain) than the estimation of duration in the multiple-second range (Fraisse, 1984; Morillon et al., 2009; Pöppel, 1997, 2009; Wittmann et al., 2007). The separation of the shorter from the two longer time intervals is also suggested by the high correlation in subjects’ behavioral performance between the 9- and 18-s temporal reproduction intervals and the lack of correlation between the 3 s and the two longer durations.

• The finding that neural activity appears to accumulate in the posterior insula provides key evidence for piecing together a theory in which interoception might function as the prime source for our subjective experience of time. Our findings together with existing studies on the influence of emotions on the experience of time (Droit-Volet & Gil, 2009; Noulhiane, Mella, Samson, Ragot, & Pouthas, 2007; Wittmann, Vollmer, Schweiger, & Hiddemann, 2006) may lead the way for a comprehensive understanding of temporal processing in the brain. Our results concerning climbing neural activity in circumscribed regions of the brain and similar more unspecific findings of climbing activity as found in human EEG with shorter intervals are compatible with the pacemaker-accumulator model of time perception (Pfeuty et al., 2005). In line with this conceptualization is it is conceivable that the number and rate of body signals accumulated in the posterior insula over a given time span creates our sense of duration. Although this conclusion is speculative, we propose that the posterior insula, which processes physiological changes in body states, is strongly involved in our experience of time.

Book nook: In Search of Time: The Science of a Curious Dimension

A new book on the general topic of how humans have studied and thought about time for decades. It doesn't look to cover the detailed cognitive IQ brain clock research that is the focus of this blog but, nevertheless, it might make a good read for placing our thinking about the phenomena of time in a broad perspective. I may need to purchase and read

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Beginning with a 5000-year-old tomb in Drogheda, Ireland, illuminated only at the winter solstice, science writer Falk asks the question,"What is time?... the stuff that flows... or a dimension, like space?" Falk (Universe on a T-Shirt) explores the origins of calendar time, from primitive astronomical observatories to the precision clocks of today. Though the movement of the heavens provided the basis for years, months, days and even the seven-day week, it wasn't until the Catholic Church needed to date important events like Easter that reconciling the lunar and solar calendars became a major concern; as such, the Church became "one of the strongest supporters of precision astronomy and timekeeping." Falk seamlessly combines science with literary and philosophical observations ("Chaucer had no notion of the length of a minute; Shakespeare did but nowhere does he mention the second") and digresses to fascinating topics like root notions of past and future, the vagaries of memory and the behavior of birds at breakfast time. Rounding out his multi-course feast, Falk contrasts Newton's notion of "absolute, true, and mathematical" time with Einstein's final words in 1955, "the distinction of past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion," to present modern speculations on black holes and the universe's future.

Technorati Tags: psychology, school psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, biology, time perception, IQ Brain Clock, brain clock, mental time-keeping

Mental timing scholar - Dr. Hedderik van Rijn

I've added Dr. Hedderik van Rijn to the IQ Brain Clock blogroll of Mental Time Keeping Scholars (see right-side of blog page). I did so after rediscovering his recent paper on "How many clocks do we have"...which is now also available under the Key Research Articles blog section. Human time perception is one of many areas of research interest for this mental time keeping scholar.


Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, biological psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, time perception, brain clock, interval timing, pacemaker accumulator model

The minds clock - Special journal issue (2004)

I just discovered that the on-line journal Acta Neurobiologiae had a special issue devoted to IQ Brain Clock topics.....temporal processing, mental time-keeping, interval timing, etc. Below is a list of the articles and direct links to the free download articles or abstracts.

So much to read...so little time.

Volume 64 Number 3

PÖPPEL E. Lost in time: a historical frame, elementary processing units and the 3-second window Article (PDF) / Abstract (PDF)

WEARDEN J.H. Decision processes in models of timing Article (PDF) / Abstract (PDF)

ZAKAY D. and BLOCK R.A. Prospective and retrospective duration judgments: an executive-control perspective Article (PDF) / Abstract (PDF)

RUBIA K. and SMITH A. The neural correlates of cognitive time management: a review Article (PDF) / Abstract (PDF)

WITTMANN M. and FINK M. Time and language – critical remarks on diagnosis and training methods of temporal-order judgment Article (PDF) / Abstract (PDF)

SZELAG E., KANABUS M., KOLODZIEJCZYK I., KOWALSKA J. and SZUCHNIK J. Individual differences in temporal information processing in humans Article (PDF) / Abstract (PDF)

POUTHAS V. and PERBAL S. Time perception depends on accurate clock mechanisms as well as unimpaired attention and memory processes Article (PDF) / Abstract (PDF)

BERWANGER D., WITTMANN M., VON STEINBÜCHEL N. and VON SUCHODOLETZ W. Measurement of temporal-order judgment in children Article (PDF) / Abstract (PDF)

KANABUS M., SZELAG E., KOLODZIEJCZYK I. and SZUCHNIK J. Reproduction of auditory and visual standards in monochannel cochlear implant users Article (PDF) / Abstract (PDF)

BAO Y., ZHOU J. and FU L. Aging and the time course of inhibition of return in a static environment Article (PDF) / Abstract (PDF)

MIYAKE Y., ONISHI Y. and PÖPPEL E. Two types of anticipation in synchronization tapping Article (PDF) / Abstract (PDF)

POGGEL D.A. and STRASBURGER H. Visual perception in space and time – mapping the visual field of temporal resolution Article (PDF) / Abstract (PDF)

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, IQ Brain Clock, mental time keeping, temporal processing, interval processing, time perception

How many internal brain clocks do we have?

Thanks to BPS for mentioning a research study ("How many clocks do we have") I apparently missed in my routine literature searches. The reference for the article, as well as the key figure, is presented above (double click on image to enlarge).

The research study was designed to investigate how humans can track multiple or different time intervals simultaneously. Three different type of hypothetical models were posited (see figure above). One is the classic pacemaker-accumulator model (which has spawned considerable research) with a single pacemaker and accumulator, the second is a model with a single pacemaker but multiple accumulators, the third is s multiple timing system (multiple sets of pacemakers and accumulators). You can read the detailed results, but the bottom line is that the authors concluded that their study favored the classic pacemaker-accumulator model (starred in figure above)

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, brain clock, multiple clocks, pacemaker accumulator model, scalar theory, interval timing, multiple timing

Understanding the IQ brain clock: Excellent overview article

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Damn I love the journal Trends in Cognitive Science. It routinely publishes concise articles that circumscribe the state of the knowledge in important areas of human cognition/intelligence. I just finished reading yet another outstanding article ("Dedicated and intrinsic models of time perception") by Ivry and Schlerf (2008) (click to review)

Throughout the past year I've posted material regarding different neural models that have been advanced to explain the IQ brain clock (temporal processing). I've never felt I've done a good job in pulling all of this together. These authors do an exceptional job in describing the four primary hypothesized models that have been advanced to explain the neural mechanisms underlying the human brain clock. More importantly they do so which the aid of great visual-graphics (see the one above). I liked the article so much that I've added it to the "key research articles" section of this blog and have also added Dr. Ivry to the "mental timing scholars" link section.

• Abstract: Two general frameworks have been articulated to describe how the passage of time is perceived. One emphasizes that the judgment of the duration of a stimulus depends on the operation of dedicated neural mechanisms specialized for representing the temporal relationships between events. Alternatively, the representation of duration could be ubiquitous, arising from the intrinsic dynamics of nondedicated neural mechanisms. In such models, duration might be encoded directly through the amount of activation of sensory processes or as spatial patterns of activity in a network of neurons. Although intrinsic models are neurally plausible, we highlight several issues that must be addressed before we dispense with models of duration perception that are based on dedicated processes.

A few tidbits extracted (directly) from the article, some that reinforce information posted at the IQ Brain Clock over the past few years---and some that is new. italics added by blogmaster:

• we focus on a fundamental question that has defined much of the recent discussion: is our perception of the passage of time the consequence of dedicated, clock-like neural mechanisms? Or is duration coded in an accessible manner as an intrinsic and ubiquitous property of neural activity?

• The facile manner with which we compare time across different modalities suggests some sort of internal clock.

• Dedicated models of time perception are, at their core, modular. As vision scientists speak of dedicated mechanisms for color or motion perception, modular models of time perception entail some sort of specialized mechanism that represents the temporal relationship between events. The pacemaker-counter model is one example of a modular system .
  

• Intrinsic models offer a radically different perspective on the perception of time. These models assume that there is no specialized brain system for representing temporal information, asserting that time is inherent in neural dynamics.
  

• the cerebellar timing hypothesis is based on the assumption that the cerebellum has a unique representational capability and is accessed whenever a particular task requires precise timing.
  

• Similar arguments have been developed for other neural regions that might serve as dedicated timing systems [25]. These include the basal ganglia [26,27], supplementary motor area [28,29] and prefrontal cortex, especially in the right hemisphere [30,31]. For the most part, converging evidence has been offered in support of all of these candidate regions.
  

• considerable debate continues on the question of whether temporal-processing deficits are uniquely associated with damage to a particular neural structure.
  

• Other dedicated models avoid localization issues by postulating that the representation of time results from activity across a network of regions
  

• The role of nontemporal factors on perceived duration Performance on time-perception tasks entails several component processes, many of which are not specific to time. These include attention, working memory and long-term or reference memor

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neurotechnology, neuroscience, mental time keeping, interval timing, temporal processing, temporal g, pacemaker accumulator, IQ Brain Clock

Cognitive and Action Lab & Richard Ivry: Mental timing scholar

Only time for a quick note. I just discovered a great new research lab that conducts research related to topics covered by the IQ Brain Clock. It is the Cognitive and Action Lab run by Dr. Richard Ivry. I'm in the middle of reading a great overview article by Dr. Ivry....and will be making a post in the next few days. I've already added Dr. Ivry to the "mental timing scholars" list at this blog. I'll make a separate mental timing scholars post regarding Dr. Ivry soon.

More later. Some exciting and great work.

Future time perception is nonlinear

Nice post at Mind Hacks commenting on post at Developing Intelligence regarding the concept of future time.

time perception brain clock psychology

Is your time perspective making you happy or miserable?

I just skimmed a thought provoking article in Time and Society by Drake et al (2008) on peoples "time perspectives." Although not dealing specifically with the milli-second level processing of the brain clock (the primary focus of the IQ Brain Clock Blog), I found the time-related article thought-provoking. I was unfamilar with the research suggesting it is possible to measure and categorize a persons "time perspective" (TP) and, more importantly, relate different patterns of TP's to level of general happiness.

First, below is the abstract of the specific article. I was less interested in the objectives and findings of the current study (relating TP to "mindfullness"), and was more captivated by the overview of the TP literature in the introduction.

• ABSTRACT. This study investigated correlates of five time perspectives (TPs) and the Balanced Time Perspective (BTP) construct proposed by Zimbardo and colleagues. Two hundred and sixty Scottish participants completed the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI: Zimbardo and Boyd, 1999), Subjective Happiness Scale (Lyubomirsky and Lepper, 1999) and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (Brown and Ryan, 2003). The most prevalent TP profile was moderate to high scores on all five TPs of the ZTPI. BTP participants were significantly happier and more mindful. Happiness and mindfulness were positively correlated but a future TP did not correlate with subjective happiness.

It appears that the predominant researchers in the TP field are Zimbardo and colleagues. Below are the gems I pulled from the introduction:

TP is define by "the manner in which individuals, and cultures, partition the flow of human experience into distinct temporal categories of past, present and future." Past, present and future temporal frames can be measured and subdivided into five categories These are:

• Past Negative (PN) - a pessimistic attitude towards the past and possibly the experience of traumaticlife events.
• Past Positive (PP) - a more sentimental and positive view of one’s past.
• Present Hedonistic (PH) - associated with the desire for spontaneous pleasure with slight regard to risk or concern for future consequences.
• Present Fatalistic (PF) - defined as a lack of hope for the future and belief that uncontrollable forces determine one’s fate.
• Future (F) - characterized by reward dependence that occurs as a result of achieving specific long-term goals.

The literature review suggests that certain TP's are associated with more negative life outcomes and feelings while others are more associated with more positive outcomes (you can read the entire literature review yourself for specifics).

According to researchers, the healthiest goal is to strive to achieve a "Balanced Time Perspective" (BTP) that is characterized, statistically, as moderate to high scores for the PP, PH, and F factors and relatively low scores for the PN and PF factors. This would translate into a person who has the ability to hold past present and future time perspectives concurrently (keeping the positive past, present fun stuff, and goal-oriented future collectively in one's day-to-day thinking) and to be able to move between each perspective to adopt the one that is most appropriate to the current situation.

According to Zimbardo et al., having a balanced time perspective (BTP) is central to function at the top of ones game in day to day living. "By that they mean that the individual will reap psychological benefits if they are able to ‘work hard when there is a mission to be accomplished, but play hard when the work is done’ "

Interesting and thought provking concepts. I'd like to find a copy of the survey and measure and categorize my time perspective.


Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, clinical psychology, happiness, mindfullness, time perspective, time perception, brain clock, IQ Brain Clock

Impulsivity and time distortion

More over at the DI blog regarding mental time perception-- this time research about time distortion and impulsivity.

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Time distortion

The Developing Intelligence blog has a post today regarding the distortion of time perception due to visual flicker.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsycholoy, neuroscience, time perception, brain clock, temporal processing

Scientific American Mind IQ Brain Clock article

Another popular press article addressing the importance of the brain and the perception/temporal processing of time...this time in the Feb/March 2008 issue of Scientific American Mind.

The cover of the issue teases the reader with the title "The time machine inside your head." The actual title of the article is "An odd sense of timing" by Pascal Wallisch (currently located as a Postdoctoral Fellow at NYU/CNS).

In general, given the page-length constraints of these popular press type of articles, this is a well-written article. As is the case with most articles that attempt to cut a wide swath in the coverage of a wide and deep field of research and theorization, it has a number of strengths and limitations. The author correctly points out the fact that many questions still remain unanswered regarding the neuro-cognitive mechanisms involved in human temporal processing.

The regular reader of the IQ Brain Clock understands that human time perception covers a broad array of timing behaviors that have been ordered on the order of 10-12 scales of magnitude (click here for prior post). Although not made explicit to the reader, the authors discussion of the precision of timing involved in the brains coordination of motor control/timing is referencing the mental timing system operating at the second and millsecond levels. A quick transition (in the article) is then made to the top end of the end of human timing systems, namely the circadian system that regulates sleep and wake cycles. Potentially lost in this transition is the important understanding that human beings have a wide range of behaviors that are governed by multiple systems of timing, each operating on a different range of time.

On the positive side, the author does touch on some of the key brain areas involved in the processing of time at the second and millisecond levels (the key focus of this blog), temporal processing important to intellectual performance (see prior posts regarding temporal g). Correct mention is made of the importance of the the basal ganglia, striatum, cerebullum, and frontal lobes (the prefrontal cortex/lobes should have received more mention..but I'm probably being a bit picky). The author makes use of two common metaphors used to explain the IQ brain clock, namely, the synchrony involved in the performance of a symphony orchestra (see "Brain Clock IM 2007 Keynote" PPT slides, located on the right side of the home blog page, for the use of this analogy in some of my attempts to explain mental timing) and the "beat of a metronome" to represent the "salvo of nerve cell impulses in the brain" that are "counted" by the brain to represent time.

A significant portion of the article, and probably the material of most popular interest, is the coverage of the subjective perception of time. That is, why, under different circumstances, does time seem to "fly" while in other circumstances time seems to "stand still." Readers who want more information should check check out a prior post re: temporal awareness.

Bottom line - I'm pleased to see the increased recognition of the internal brain clock in more mainstream media. Understanding human temporal processing, IMHO, has the potential to help us better understand a range of important intellectual behaviors and, more importantly, has the potential to produce neuro-cognitive based IQ Brain Clock "fine tunning" interventions that may improve intellectual and academic performance.




Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, IQ Brain Clock, brain clock, mental clock, mental timing, interval timing, circadian, basal ganglia, striatum, frontal lobes, prefrontal cortex, metronome, temporal awareness, Scientific American Mind

Impulsivity and time perception

An interesting "in press" article (Trends in Cognitive Sciences; Willmann & Paulus) that links the pacemaker accumulator model (PAM) of mental time-keeping and impulsivity and decision making.

The bottom line is that individuals that focus more attentional resources on time ("watching the clock") and/or who may be in increased arousal states (due to emotional distress), experience time differently. Such individuals overestimate time durations, and thus have a harder time waiting for rewards or delaying gratification needs. According to the author's modification of the predominant PAM model (see addition of "mood states" oval in figure above), the pacemaker of impulsive individuals may run at a higher clock speed, due to increased arousal or attention.

Interesting hypothesis and expansion of the PAM.

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Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, pacemaker accumulator, IQ Brain Clock, brain clock, time perception, temporal processing, impulsivity, ADHD

Time Doc Byte # 4 - Brain clock and attention

Bingo! As I've hypothesized in my ramblings and recent presentations, attention (more specifically, what I believe to be executive controlled attention) is viewed as crucial to an efficient internal brain clock.

Again, quoting from from Meck (2003); Introduction to edited book - Functional and Neural Mechanisms of Interval Timing). [Underline or italic emphasis added by blogmaster.]

• A number of researchers have presented psychophysical data suggesting that duration judgments depend on the amount of attentional resources allocated to a temporal processor or internal clock.

• These data provide strong and convincing evidence for the role of attentional time-sharing in interval timing.
  

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, interval timing, brain clock, attention, executive function, executive attention, mental time keeping, temporal processing

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Time Doc Byte # 3 - Brain clock importance and clinical groups

Here is my third Time Doc Byte. Categories - "importance" of the human brain clock and mental time-keeping; relevance to clinical groups/populations

This time the quotes come from a chapter from Meck (2003); Introduction to edited book - Functional and Neural Mechanisms of Interval Timing - yep, I've got the book and am hoping I can get through the technical and deep material - the book is listed as a "recommended book" on the right side of this blog).

Underline or italic emphasis added by blogmaster.

• The term interval timing is used to describe the temporal discrimination processes involved in the estimation and reproduction of relatively short during the seconds-to-minutes range that form the fabric of our everyday existence and unite our mental representations of actions and rhythmical structures.

• Human learning and memory is highly sensitive to temporal factors, and oscillator-based models have been proposed for the coding of serial order in memory...In addition, deficits in learning, memory, set shifting, and interval timing have been observed in a variety of patient populations with damage to the basal ganglia, including Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease patients, as well as other cortical and subcortical brain structures affected by Alzheimer's disease, injury, and stroke.

• ...understanding temporal integration by the brain will be among the premier topics to unite systems, cellular, computational, and cognitive neuroscience over the next decade.

• It is interesting to note that some researchers have argued that a primary function of the internal clock is to allow for the efficient transfer of information from one stage of information processing to another at regularly spaced intervals.
  

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, interval timing, brain clock, mental time keeping, Parkinsons, Huntingtons, Alzheimers, stroke, brain injury, temporal processing, Time Doc Byte

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