Behavioral and Electrophysiological Evidence of Time Dilation Induced by Click Train in a Temporal Reproduction Task

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Background: The temporal reproduction paradigm is extensively used to study human time perception. Despite extensive behavioral and physiological research, the effect of click trains on different supra-second interval timings in the time reproduction task remains unclear. Event-related potentials (ERPs), such as contingent negative variation (CNV), might provide further insight into the underlying processes occurring at various timing stages. Methods: In this study, constant and click trains stimuli were presented to the 33 participants in a time reproduction task. During the encoding phase, participants in each condition were given different click train interval timings (1400, 1600, 1800, and 2000 ms). In this original research, we examined the influence of click trains on time reproduction performance using behavioral and electrophysiological methods. Results: Findings revealed time dilation during the presentation of click trains in behavioral patterns (P-value = 0.001). Furthermore, electroencephalography (EEG) data revealed a distinct CNV during the encoding and reproduction of interval timings. In the reproduction phase, CNV amplitudes were more negative in the click trains condition compared with the constant auditory stimulation condition (P-value = 0.027). Statistically significant differences were also observed in the CNV amplitudes at various interval timings during the encoding phase, but the amplitude did not increase linearly. Conclusions: Intriguingly, according to the proposed neural mechanism studies, the brain structures affected by the click train corresponded to the electrodes that CNV was observed in the time reproduction task. These findings contribute to our understanding of the striatal-beat frequency (SBF) timing model.