Temporal order in memory and interval timing: An interference analysis

Abstract

This is the unspecified version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. The effect of varying load in memory tasks performed during a time interval production was examined. In a first experiment, increasing load in memory search for temporal order affected concurrent time production more strongly than varying load in a spatial memory task of equivalent difficulty. This result suggests that timing uses some specific resources also required in processing temporal order in memory, resources that would not be used in the spatial memory task. A second experiment showed however that although increasing load affected time intervals when the concurrent task was to search for temporal order, the same manipulation had a much smaller effect on produced intervals when the task was to maintain information on temporal order in memory. These results underscore the importance of considering the specific resources and processes involved when the interference between timing and concurrent nontemporal tasks is analyzed. Permanent repository link

Auditory and visual differences in time perception? An investigation from a developmental perspective with neuropsychological tests

“…Thus, the accumulator/switch system is thought to place a heavy demand on attentional resources, with a greater degree of attention required to maintain the switch in a stable state of closure for visual signals than for auditory signals. This is consistent with the results of studies suggesting that the accumulator/switch process depends on mental load in working memory as well as attentional demands (Block, Hancock, & Zakay, 2010;Fortin, Champagne, & Poirier, 2007;Ivry & Schlerf, 2008). Consequently, the timing of visual signals, which is more attentionally demanding than the timing of auditory signals, might explain the lower temporal sensitivity in the visual modality than in the auditory modality and why this is more marked in the young children.…”

Bidirectional interference between timing and concurrent memory processing in children

“…More interesting, our data show experimentally for the first time that this shortening effect in a dual-task condition appeared regardless of the sensory modality in which the stimulus is presented (visual or auditory) and regardless of the type of memory task used (executive task or digit or visuospatial memory task). This provides support for claims that temporal processing involves a working memory control system with limited attentional capacity, that is, the central executive (Brown, 1997(Brown, , 2006Brown & Frieh, 2000;Fortin et al, 2007;Rammsayer & Ulrich, 2005;Zakay & Block, 2004). Additional evidence for this comes from neuroscience studies showing that working memory and timing rely on the same anatomical structures (Lewis & Miall, 2003, 2006Lustig, Matell, & Meck, 2005).…”

“…Thus, we can logically expect the central executive component of working memory to play a role in temporal information processing. Recent studies have yielded empirical data that are consistent with this assumption (Brown, 1997(Brown, , 2006Brown & Frieh, 2000;Fortin, Champagne, & Poirier, 2007;Rammsayer & Ulrich, 2005). Brown (2006), for example, investigated bidirectional interference by pairing a timing task with an executive-level task.…”

Dedicated Clock/Timing-Circuit Theories of Time Perception and Timed Performance

“…Moreover, an optimal strategy for detection can distinguish between interval timing and working memory, i.e., a diverse range of delta-theta frequencies is favorable for encoding event duration, whereas synchronous theta oscillations are better for maintaining one or more items in working memory because this effectively increases the size of neuronal network. Therefore, the observed interference between interval timing and working memory [150][151][152][153][154] can be explained in terms of how the range of theta-oscillation frequencies is set (e.g., multiple theta frequencies or a single theta frequency synchronized with cortical oscillations). We suggest that network synchrony analyses, as described by Burke et al [155] and Gu et al [139], are able to distinguish between two types of spectral modulations: (1) those that reflect synchronous engagement of MSNs in the striatum with cortical or hippocampal neurons and (2) those that reflect either asynchronous modulations of neural activity or local synchrony accompanied by disengagement from other brain structures.…”