Time experience and time judgment in major depression, mania and healthy subjects. A controlled study of 93 subjects.
OBJECTIVE
Studies on the time sense of depressed patients have revealed inconsistent results. Manic patients have been almost neglected.


METHODS
Patients with a major depressive episode (n = 32), or a manic episode (n = 30) (both Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV, Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview-confirmed), and 31 healthy controls were included. The subjective time experience was assessed by a visual analog scale (VAS), the objectively measurable time judgment abilities by the Chronotest, a computer program developed for this study, consisting of time estimation and time production tasks.


RESULTS
Controls reported a balanced, manic patients an enhanced, and depressive patients a slowed experience of time flow in the VAS (P < 0.001). In the time judgment tasks, however, both depressed and manic patients showed time overestimation for the longer time spans (P < 0.008).


CONCLUSIONS
This largest study on time sense in manic patients confirmed results of a divergent alteration of time experience in depressive and in manic patients but revealed an uniform time overestimation by both patient groups in time judgment tasks.
Bschor
T
T
Department of Psychiatry, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany. bschor@mailbox.tu-dresden.de
Ising
M
M
Bauer
M
M
Lewitzka
U
U
Skerstupeit
M
M
Müller-Oerlinghausen
B
B
Baethge
C
C
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013998:Time Perception