Functional Anatomy of the Attentional Modulation of Time Estimation

TLDR

Attention modulates subjective time perception, with reduced attention shortening perceived duration. The study parametrically varied attention to time or color in an event‑related fMRI experiment. Task performance rose linearly with increased brain activity, and heightened attention to time selectively engaged a corticostriatal network (pre‑supplementary motor area and right frontal operculum), whereas attention to color activated area V4, delineating the core neuroanatomical substrates of timing behavior.

Abstract

Attention modulates our subjective perception of time. The less we attend to an event's duration, the shorter it seems to last. Attention to time or color stimulus attributes was modulated parametrically in an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Linear increases in task performance were accompanied by corresponding increases in brain activity. Increasing attention to time selectively increased activity in a corticostriatal network, including pre-supplementary motor area and right frontal operculum. Increasing attention to color selectively increased activity in area V4. By identifying areas whose activity was specifically modulated by attention to time, we have defined the core neuroanatomical substrates of timing behavior.