Time distortion under threat: Sympathetic arousal predicts time distortion only in the context of negative, highly arousing stimuli.

Michael Richter,Ruth Sarah Ogden,Christos Papadelis,Francis McGlone,Jessica Henderson

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0216704

Michael Richter, Ruth Sarah Ogden + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216704

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: May 13, 2019
Citations: 25	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Liverpool John Moores University

Abstract

Theoretical models of time perception suggest a simple bottom-up relationship between physiological arousal and perceived duration. Increases in physiological arousal lengthen the perceived duration of events whereas decreases in physiological arousal reduce them. Whilst this relationship has been demonstrated for highly arousing negatively valenced stimuli, it has not been demonstrated for other classes of distorting stimuli (e.g. positively valenced or low arousal stimuli). The current study tested the effect of valence (positive and negative) and arousal level (high and low) on the relationship between physiological arousal and perceived duration. Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) activity was measured during a verbal estimation task in which participants judged the duration of high and low arousal, positive, negative and neutrally valenced IAPS images. SNS and PSNS activity were indexed by measuring Pre-Ejection Period (PEP) and High Frequency Heart-rate Variability (HF-HRV) respectively. SNS reactivity was predicative of perceived duration, but only for high arousal negatively valenced stimuli, with decreases in PEP being associated with longer duration estimates. SNS and PSNS activity was not predictive of perceived duration for the low arousal negative stimuli or the low and high arousal positive stimuli. We therefore propose a new model suggesting that emotional distortions to time result from a combination of bottom-up (physiological arousal) and top-down (threat detection) factors.

Highlights

The ability to accurately judge the duration of events in the milliseconds to seconds range has been suggested to be critical to behavioural regulation and survival [1, 2, 3]
The correlation obtained between pre-ejection period (PEP) change and estimate change was significantly greater in the high arousal negative condition than in the low arousal negative condition (p = .03), the high arousal positive condition (p = .03) and the low arousal positive condition (p = .03)
It is becoming increasingly clear that the relationship between physiological arousal and emotional distortions to time is more complex than previously imagined

Summary

Introduction

The ability to accurately judge the duration of events in the milliseconds to seconds range has been suggested to be critical to behavioural regulation and survival [1, 2, 3]. Experimental work shows that the timing of behaviours performed in the milliseconds-seconds range, for example eye-contact duration [4] and pauses in speech [5], influence the interpretation and success of these social acts. Millisecond perceptual accuracy has been shown to be important when making experimental [6] and applied [7] judgments of time to contact and collision. Our perception of duration is distorted by affective state (emotion) resulting in the subjective shortening and lengthening of the perceived duration of emotional events [2, 8].

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