Timing and Time Perception: A Critical Review of Neural Timing Signatures Before, During, and After the To‐Be‐Timed Interval

Abstract

This chapter reviews recent human and nonhuman animal studies investigating neural signatures of time estimation. Investigation of the neural correlates of time estimation as measured by electrophysiology, electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in humans and other animals has largely been focused on the to‐be‐timed period. Climbing neural activity (e.g., ramping) originating from the supplementary motor area has been implicated as a primary neural marker that coincides with the development of subjective experience of duration. However, it has recently been questioned whether such climbing neural activity directly reflects the neural mechanism(s) underpinning the sense of time. Given that the neural signatures recorded during the to‐be‐timed period are insufficient to explain various aspects of interval timing, this has led to the consideration of processes influencing timing before and after the to‐be‐timed period. Because many of these signatures are linked with the supplementary motor area, an extended discussion of the role of this cortical structure in timing and time perception is provided. These neural correlates are interpreted in light of contemporary theories of interval timing, such as the striatal beat frequency model. Future directions for the investigation of the functional and neural mechanisms of interval timing are also discussed.