Time and its representations: at the crossroads between psychoanalysis and neuroscience

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychoanalysis
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Subjective time representations are shaped by individual beliefs, concepts, and technology.
• Neuroscience and psychoanalysis intersect in understanding objective factors influencing temporal perception.
• Scientific validity, particularly reproducibility, is challenged by the inherent passage of time and individual biological changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the intersection of neuroscience and psychoanalysis in the study of time representation.
• To investigate how focusing on the present moment may serve as a mechanism to avoid confronting finitude.
• To hypothesize the role of circadian rhythm alterations in autistic children's need for stereotyped discontinuity.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis integrating neuroscience and psychoanalytic perspectives on time.
• Examination of subjective temporal experiences influenced by cognitive, physiological, and physical factors.
• Case illustration using individuals with autism to explore present-moment focus and discontinuity.

Main Results:

• Time representation is inherently subjective, influenced by biological and psychological factors, yet studied through objective neuroscientific lenses.
• The focus on present instantaneity may be a coping mechanism against the fear of mortality.
• Autistic behaviors, characterized by a focus on the present and stereotyped discontinuity, may stem from underlying physiological developmental issues like circadian rhythm alterations.

Conclusions:

• Current neuroscientific approaches to time may provide an illusion of control over the uncontrollable passage of time, potentially linked to managing the fear of death.
• The study of temporality highlights the complex interplay between subjective experience and objective biological processes.
• Further research into circadian rhythms and autism could illuminate fundamental aspects of time perception and its relation to psychological well-being.