[Time perception in depressed and manic patients].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the time perception in affective disorders by using neuropsychological tests and to try to elucidate its neurobiochemical mechanism.


METHODS
Using a time reproduction task, a comparative study was conducted for 28 depressive patients, 22 manic patients, and 26 age and education level matched healthy persons as healthy controls.


RESULTS
Both depressive patients and manic patients are abnormal (P < 0.001), depressive patients over-reproduced the time interval than healthy controls (600 ms/delay 1 s: 1.6 +/- 0.6, P < 0.001; 600 ms/delay 5 s: 1.7 +/- 0.6, P < 0.001; 3 s/delay 1 s: 3.9 +/- 0.9, P < 0.001; 3 s/delay 5 s: 3.9 +/- 0.7, P < 0.001; 5 s/delay 1 s: 5.9 +/- 1.3, P < 0.001; 5 s/delay 5 s: 6.1 +/- 1.3, P < 0.001), yet manic patients under-reproduced the time interval (600 ms/delay 1 s: 0.7 +/- 0.2, P < 0.01; 600 ms/delay 5 s: 0.6 +/- 0.3, P < 0.001; 3 s/delay 1 s: 1.7 +/- 0.5, P < 0.001; 3 s/delay 5 s: 1.8 +/- 0.6, P < 0.001; 5 s/delay 1 s: 2.9 +/- 0.7, P < 0.001; 5 s/delay 5 s: 3.0 +/- 0.8, P < 0.001). The results of time reproduction task in patients were not related to age, education, duration of illness, number of admission (P > 0.05), but had some relation to severity of illness.And the results were positively correlated with the score of HAMD in depressive patients (six times: r = 0.44, 0.46, 0.73, 0.61, 0.55, 0.50, P < 0.05), but negatively with the score of BRMS in manic patients (six times: r = -0.57, -0.54, -0.71, -0.69, -0.80, -0.71, P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Emotion will affect one's time perception. And the neurotransmitter in brain may participate in the processes of time perception.
Zhao
Qi-yuan
QY
Department of Neuropsychology, First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China.
Ji
Yi-fu
YF
Wang
Kai
K
Zhang
Lei
L
Liu
Ping
P
Jiang
Yu-bao
YB
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013998:Time Perception; D055815:Young Adult