SPATIOTEMPORAL INTERACTIONS IN HUMAN TIME PERCEPTION

Abstract

Across three experiments, we explored the role of spatiotemporal interactions in temporal processing. In Experiment 1, we used a temporal reproduction task to investigate how eye movements affect supra-second time perception and found greater temporal distortion with greater eye movements. In Experiment 2, using fMRI, we explored neural underpinnings of temporal processing by presenting dynamic visual stimuli. Activity in the supplementary motor area (SMA) varied parametrically with greater stimulus duration, but was eliminated after accounting for general accumulative processes. We also found greater activity in the caudate nucleus in trials where the temporal decision could only be made at a later time point. In Experiment 3, we investigated spatiotemporal interactions by presenting dynamic binaural stimuli and found auditory distance judgments of the binaural stimuli to be more susceptible to interference by its duration. Taken together, these experiments demonstrate the importance of accounting for space-time interactions in models of time perception.