Tendency to overestimate the explicit time interval in relation to aging and cognitive decline

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psychology

Background:

• Age-related changes in explicit time perception are inconsistently reported.
• The relationship between time estimation biases and cognitive status requires further clarification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate age-related differences in explicit interval timing.
• To examine the association between time estimation accuracy and cognitive status.
• To determine the most effective metric for predicting cognitive decline from time perception.

Main Methods:

• A verbal estimation task assessed 40-second interval timing in 250 healthy adults and 10 Alzheimer's patients.
• Performance was measured using Coefficient of Variation (CV), Absolute Error (AE), and Directional Error (DE).
• Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scores were used to evaluate cognitive status.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in age, cognitive status, and AE were found between over- and under-estimators.
• Healthy participants tended to underestimate, while older adults and those with low MoCA scores mildly overestimated.
• Alzheimer's patients severely overestimated the interval.

Conclusions:

• Directional Error is a superior predictor of cognitive status (MoCA score) compared to AE and CV.
• Time perception, particularly the direction of error, offers insights into cognitive aging and Alzheimer's disease.