Time Perception Distortion in Neuropsychiatric and Neurological Disorders

Abstract

There is no sense organ specifically dedicated to time perception, as there is for other senses such as hearing and vision. However, this subjective sense of time is fundamental to our conception of reality and it creates the temporal course of events in our lives. Here, we explored neurobiological relations from the clinical perspective, examining timing ability in patients with different neurological and psychiatric conditions (e.g. Parkinson's disease, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and schizophrenia). The neural bases of present distortions in time perception and temporal information processing still remain poorly understood. We reviewed: a) how the brain is capable of encoding time in different environments and multiple tasks, b) different models of interval timing, c) brain structures and neurotransmitters associated with time perception, d) the relationship between memory and time perception, e) neural mechanisms underlying different theories in neural and mental processes, and f) the relationship between different mental diseases and time perception. Bibliographic research was conducted based on publications over the past thirteen years written in English in the databases Scielo, Pubmed/MEDLINE, ISI Web of Knowledge. The time perceptions research are executed to evaluate time perception in mental diseases and can provide evidence for future clinical applications.

In the jungle of time: the concept of identity as a way out

“…Thus, all sequential operations require the identity of functional states, the results of the comparisons, the content of the decisions, and the anticipated goals to be reached. If temporal processing is distorted, as can be observed in certain brain diseases (Teixeira et al, 2013), the consistency and coherence of our mental life may break down; pathological changes which may occur at different levels of temporal processing support the outlined mechanisms of cognitive control.…”

Abnormal Time Experiences in Major Depression: An Empirical Qualitative Study

“…The integrity of time perception is essential to build up higher-order time experiences as the fluidity and continuity of a subjective sense of temporality, the temporal coding of events, and synchronization with the environment [81,82] . Yet, time perception is not the same as time experience.…”

Cardiac Signals Are Independently Associated with Temporal Discounting and Time Perception

“…For example, by using a duration reproduction (DR) task (in which participants reproduce a sample interval with a manual response), it has been shown that individuals with a impulsive personality traits tend to terminate their reproductions earlier than those without impulsive personality traits, as if they perceive the passage of time to be faster than it objectively is (van den Broek et al, 1992). Performance deficits in these types of time estimation tasks have been related to a range of psychiatric conditions: Parkinson’s disease, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, as well as anxiety disorders (Allman and Meck, 2012; Teixeira et al, 2013). Notably, there is considerable overlap in psychiatric disorders associated with abnormal cardiac signals, time perception and TD (Kemp et al, 2010; Allman and Meck, 2012; Bickel et al, 2012; Teixeira et al, 2013; Clamor et al, 2016).…”

“…Performance deficits in these types of time estimation tasks have been related to a range of psychiatric conditions: Parkinson’s disease, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, as well as anxiety disorders (Allman and Meck, 2012; Teixeira et al, 2013). Notably, there is considerable overlap in psychiatric disorders associated with abnormal cardiac signals, time perception and TD (Kemp et al, 2010; Allman and Meck, 2012; Bickel et al, 2012; Teixeira et al, 2013; Clamor et al, 2016). …”