Abstract
The neural basis of time perception has long attracted the interests of researchers. Recently, a conceptual model consisting of neural oscillators was proposed and validated by behavioral experiments that measured the dilated duration in perception of a flickering stimulus (Hashimoto and Yotsumoto, 2015). The model proposed that flickering stimuli cause neural entrainment of oscillators, resulting in dilated time perception. In this study, we examined the oscillator-based model of time perception, by collecting electroencephalography (EEG) data during an interval-timing task. Initially, subjects observed a stimulus, either flickering at 10-Hz or constantly illuminated. The subjects then reproduced the duration of the stimulus by pressing a button. As reported in previous studies, the subjects reproduced 1.22 times longer durations for flickering stimuli than for continuously illuminated stimuli. The event-related potential (ERP) during the observation of a flicker oscillated at 10 Hz, reflecting the 10-Hz neural activity phase-locked to the flicker. Importantly, the longer reproduced duration was associated with a larger amplitude of the 10-Hz ERP component during the inter-stimulus interval, as well as during the presentation of the flicker. The correlation between the reproduced duration and the 10-Hz oscillation during the inter-stimulus interval suggested that the flicker-induced neural entrainment affected time dilation. While the 10-Hz flickering stimuli induced phase-locked entrainments at 10 Hz, we also observed event-related desynchronizations of spontaneous neural oscillations in the alpha-frequency range. These could be attributed to the activation of excitatory neurons while observing the flicker stimuli. In addition, neural activity at approximately the alpha frequency increased during the reproduction phase, indicating that flicker-induced neural entrainment persisted even after the offset of the flicker. In summary, our results suggest that the duration perception is mediated by neural oscillations, and that time dilation induced by flickering visual stimuli can be attributed to neural entrainment.
Highlights
A major focus of interval-timing studies has been the mechanism of how physical time-flow is converted into a mental representation of duration
The behavioral results were consistent with the simulations, indicating that neural entrainment can account for flicker-induced time dilation
We measured the neural correlations between EEG and time dilation in order to evaluate the effects of neural entrainment in time dilation
Summary
A major focus of interval-timing studies has been the mechanism of how physical time-flow is converted into a mental representation of duration. Many studies have proposed that neural oscillators with periodic activations are utilized for the physical-mental conversion of time, but physiologic aspects of the oscillators are still controversial (Gibbon et al, 1984; Treisman et al, 1994; Matell and Meck, 2004). Hashimoto and Yotsumoto (2015) examined time dilation using various flickering frequencies, and conducted simulations by a model that integrated flicker-induced neural entrainments with a previously proposed oscillator-based model (Matell and Meck, 2004). The behavioral results were consistent with the simulations, indicating that neural entrainment can account for flicker-induced time dilation
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.