[Time of consciousness, consciousness of time].
Time shapes our behavior: we must estimate the duration of events in our environment in order to anticipate changes and time our activity in function of these changes. However, there is no sensory modality devoted to the perception of time, therefore the question is to know which mechanisms underlie the consciousness that time flows and allow us to estimate time precisely. This article proposes a brief overview of psychological, neuropsychological and brain imaging studies which rely on theoretical models postulating the existence of an internal timer. These studies examine the different components--time base, counter and memory--of this timer: particularly they are aimed at characterising the relationships between the evolution of these components with age or their pathological alterations and changes in temporal judgements. They also attempt to specify the neural bases of these components. From this brief overview comes the idea that, if an internal timer exits, it does not mark objective time but a multitude of subjective times.
Pouthas
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Unité de Neurosciences Cognitives et Imagerie Cérébrale, UPR 640 LENA-CNRS, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, Paris, France. lenavp@ext.jussieu.fr
D001683:Biological Clocks; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003243:Consciousness; D006801:Humans; D013998:Time Perception