Functional anatomy of the attentional modulation of time estimation.
Attention modulates our subjective perception of time. The less we attend to an event's duration, the shorter it seems to last. Attention to time or color stimulus attributes was modulated parametrically in an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Linear increases in task performance were accompanied by corresponding increases in brain activity. Increasing attention to time selectively increased activity in a corticostriatal network, including pre-supplementary motor area and right frontal operculum. Increasing attention to color selectively increased activity in area V4. By identifying areas whose activity was specifically modulated by attention to time, we have defined the core neuroanatomical substrates of timing behavior.
Laboratoire de Neurobiologie de la Cognition, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 31 Chemin Joseph-Aiguier, 13402 Marseille Cedex 20, France. jcoull@lnf.cnrs-mrs.fr
Jennifer T
JT
Coull
Franck
F
Vidal
Bruno
B
Nazarian
Francoise
F
Macar
D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003118:Color Perception; D003463:Cues; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013998:Time Perception