Aging and the subjective experience of time.

Abstract

The subjective experience of time involves several, not yet identified, mechanisms. Many cognitive and emotional factors, such as attention, memory and subjective mental states can influence time estimation. We aimed to assess the subjective experience of time and its relationships with cognitive and emotional characteristics in the elderly. Forty-nine non-demented patients hospitalized for orthopedic rehabilitation underwent an 'ecological' evaluation tool, the semi-structured QUEstionnaire for the Subjective experience of Time (QUEST) requiring retrospective and prospective judgements on self-relevant time intervals. All patients completed tests to assess general cognitive functioning and two questionnaires to evaluate emotional state. Results showed that accuracy in time estimation did not differ in young-old vs. old-old individuals: both groups performed better on prospective than on retrospective items and on highly than on poorly self-relevant items. Multiple regression analysis showed that performance on QUEST was significantly related to depression and hospitalization duration, but not to age, education, or neuropsychological scores. The influence of the emotional state is consistent with theories postulating that the "sense of time" is emergent from emotional and visceral states.