title: Dynamic calibration of our sense of time.
abstract: An accurate sense of time contributes to functions ranging from the perception and anticipation of sensory events to the production of coordinated movements. However, accumulating evidence demonstrates that time perception is subject to strong illusory distortion. In two experiments, we investigated whether the subjective speed of temporal perception is dependent on our visual environment. By presenting human observers with speed-altered movies of a crowded street scene, we modulated performance on subsequent production of "20s" elapsed intervals. Our results indicate that one's visual environment significantly contributes to calibrating our sense of time, independently of any modulation of arousal. This plasticity generates an assay for the integrity of our sense of time and its rehabilitation in clinical pathologies.
authors.affiliation: Community Psychiatry Service, Vaudois University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jeremy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grivel
authors.forename: Fosco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bernasconi
authors.forename: Aurélie L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Manuel
authors.forename: Micah M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Lucas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spierer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002138:Calibration; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000502:physiology; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007699:Kinesthesis; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult