The effect of space on subjective time is mediated by apparent velocity

Abstract

In contrast to the intuitive and traditional assumption of a centralized and universal neural clock, many recent studies have provided evidence against this idea. Here, we investigated whether subjective duration is estimated by a mechanism that tracks the trajectory of a moving object. Such a mechanism would integrate over the velocity and the spatial distance the object traveled to derive its duration. We exposed observers to a moving object that covered either a small or large spatial distance. We found that subjective duration decreased after this exposure when intervals were tested that were defined by stimuli covering a large, but not by stimuli covering a small, spatial distance. We compared the effects of our velocity exposure to previously used adaptation to a drifting grating and found a dependence of spatial distance only for velocity exposure. The finding that temporal estimations decrease after exposure to fast-moving stimuli selectively at large distances suggests that subjective duration is derived from measurements of velocity and space.