Dissociable roles of theta and alpha in sub-second and supra-second time reproduction: An investigation of their links to depression and anxiety

Abstract

The Striatal Beat Frequency model (Matell & Meck, 2004) suggests that multiple cortical oscillators contribute to human temporal cognition. Based on the theory, the current study examined the interactions between interval timing and neural oscillations, as predicted by timing deficits found in neuropsychiatric conditions. The interaction is predicted to manifest in frontal-midline theta and occipital alpha oscillations, which are two important cortical oscillatory sources engaged in working memory and time perception. Therefore, the main goal of the study is to examine how depression and anxiety modulate frontal-midline theta and occipital data during the encoding of sub- and supra-second intervals. In the current study, participants reproduced sub- (400, 600, 800ms) and supra-second (1600, 1800, 2000ms) intervals while they underwent scalp EEG recordings. Anxiety and depression levels were measured via self-report psychometrics. We found that higher levels of self-reported anxiety and depression were associated with shorter reproduction of lengths of durations. Further, time-frequency analysis of scalp EEG revealed a dissociation where state anxiety altered the links between frontal-midline theta power and sub-second interval reproduction, while depression and trait anxiety altered the association between occipital alpha power and supra-second interval reproduction. Our results suggest that anxiety and depression alter time perception, and this differentially relates to frontal-midline theta and occipital alpha as substrates for sub- and supra-second interval timing.