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Eye Movements in Visual Duration Perception: Disentangling Stimulus from Time in Predecisional Processes
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The neural substrates of subjective time dilation
Marc Wittmann1, Virginie van Wassenhove, A D Bud Craig
1Department of Empirical and Analytical Psychophysics, Institute for Frontier Areas in Psychology and Mental Health Freiburg, Germany.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|February 18, 2010
Summary
Perception of time dilation occurs when objects approach, not recede. This temporal illusion involves brain networks for cognitive control and self-awareness, suggesting time perception links to self-referential processing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
- Psychophysics
Background:
- Objects moving towards observers are perceived as longer in duration than static or receding objects.
- This time dilation effect has been observed across various stimulus features like color, size, and dynamics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the subjective time dilation effect using fMRI.
- To determine if approaching (looming) and receding visual stimuli differentially activate brain regions associated with time perception.
Main Methods:
- Event-related fMRI study with participants viewing visual stimuli.
- Stimuli included static standard events and a deviant target (looming or receding disc) with varied duration.
- Participants judged target duration relative to standard events.
Main Results:
- A time dilation effect was observed exclusively for looming targets.
- Both looming and receding targets increased activation in the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortices (core control network) compared to static standards.
- The contrast between looming and receding targets revealed asymmetric activation, notably in cortical midline structures (default network).
Conclusions:
- The temporal dilation illusion is linked to the activation of brain areas involved in cognitive control and subjective awareness.
- The engagement of midline structures suggests a relationship between time perception and self-referential processing.
