Abstract
The present study examined the neural mechanisms of attention modulation on timing using ERP and sLORETA measurements in a dual-task paradigm. We parametrically varied the attention to the durations of a 1000-Hz pure tone and further localized the cortical regions that were sensitive to the attention modulation on timing. Results demonstrated that the attention modulation might happen at early stage, approximately 200 ms after stimulus presentation. The P2 component at frontal area served as an early neural correlate of attention effects on timing. More importantly, the contingent negative variation (CNV) appeared at fronto-central area was sensitive to the attention effect. In addition, the supplementary motor area (SMA) was assumed to be one of the key regions for selectively attending to and estimating time. These findings provide temporal and spatial correlates of attention-modulated time processing and potentially help to investigate the neural mechanisms of patients with time perception deficits.
Highlights
Attention modulation on timing is an important issue in time perception [1]
According to the timing model based on pulse accumulation [2], attention effects on timing refer to the phenomenon that the more attention is paid to time, the more pulses are accumulated [3,4]
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging technique, Coull et al [7] showed that the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal in supplementary motor area (SMA) positively correlated with the amount of attention paid to timing
Summary
Attention modulation on timing is an important issue in time perception [1]. According to the timing model based on pulse accumulation [2], attention effects on timing refer to the phenomenon that the more attention is paid to time, the more pulses are accumulated [3,4]. The pulse-accumulation model of timing can accurately describe a large part of timing phenomena in cognitive psychology, it is considered no more than a good metaphor of actual time perception mechanism [6]. Beyond this experience theory model, recently, more researchers focused on the neural mechanisms of time perception [6]. Macar and Vidal [10,12] considered the CNV as a neural signature of the temporal accumulator, which performs based on the number of activated neuronal units and is influenced by the amount of attention attributed to timing. Our main concern was the attention effect on timing, i.e., pulse-accumulation phase
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