Time and duration: A persistent illusion

Abstract

Attention is drawn to a persistent illusory correlation between the words time and duration. This illusory correlation led Ward (1991) Thecomparison of brain with behavior may be adversely affected by an illusory correlation between time and duration (Wasserman & Kong, 1974). This time/duration illusory correlation is extremely potent, and it has a tendency to recur even though it has been authoritatively recognized (see Uttal, 1981, pp. 498-5(0). It has recently appeared in the pages of this journal in a paper by Ward (1991), whence the present Comment.After reporting on a serious and extensive attempt to compare neural adaptation with informational adaptation, Ward concluded that he had not found a close relation between the two; other things being held roughly equal, neural adaptation, measured in single nerve cells, appeared to Ward to be considerably more rapid than informational adaptation, measured in human behavior. However, the present Comment will show that this conclusion depended on Ward's being influenced by the time/duration illusory correlation. The present Comment will also suggest that a closer correspondence between brain and behavior appears when the illusion is dispelled.The time/duration illusory correlation occurs, in part, because the words time and duration are not only linked intuitively, but also measured in exactly the same unitsseconds. And these two words sometimes actually do refer to the identical quantity; specifically, at the exact moment when a particular stimulus ends, its time relative to stimulus onset is then quantitatively identical to its duration.A deeper source of the difficulty is the existence of two measurement cultures: one for the investigation of the brain and another for the investigation of behavior. It is particularly common in brain measurements to obtain a record of the electrical potential of a nerve cell as a function of time: one connects an electrode to both the cell C~should be addressed to Gerald S. Wasserman, Sensory Co?mg

A front end to a theory of picture recognition

“…We emphasize this distinction, as t and d are often confused (cf. Wasserman, 1991). Second, when the stimulus temporal waveform is a step function (as in Figure 1A) the constant contrast level is denoted Φ (thus in Figure 1, Φ = 0.05).…”

Two Asymmetries Governing Neural and Mental Timing

“…An asymmetry immediately emerged: On the one hand, Adrian's studies of the properties of single sensory neurons contributed to the foundation underpinning the present golden age of neuroscience, a time marked by cumulative orderly progress in which partial understandings have steadily become more complete and errors have progressively been corrected. On the other hand, and at essentially the same time, these early comparisons of neuronal and mental timing were marred by an illusory correlation (Wasserman & Kong, 1974) which is so powerful that it still afflicts even recent scholarship (Ward, 1991;Wasserman, 1991) despite its authoritative recognition (Uttal, 1981). The illusion is created by the use of the same measurement units (i.e., milliseconds) to quantify completely different characteristics: stimulus duration versus time after stimulus onset.…”

Visual cells in excised Limulus eyes: 2. Excision does not reduce sensitivity to light

“…In order to avoid certain persistent errors that arise in comparing brain and behavior (see Wasserman, 1991;Wasserman & Kong, 1974), it is useful to have physiological preparations that last long enough to replicate the conditions used in behavioral experiments. The excised lateral eye of the horseshoe crab, Limulus, is ideal in such studies, for three reasons.…”