Presentation Information
[P2-37]Recalibrating perceptual time through motor learning
*Nicola Binetti1, Federico Mancinelli3, Marco Zanon2, Domenica Bueti2 (1. Università degli studi di Roma Tor Vergata (Italy), 2. International School for Advanced Studies (Italy), 3. University of Bonn (Germany))
Keywords:
Motor control,Visual timing,Sensorimotor integration,Time encoding and decoding,Behavioural modelling,EEG
Timing is central to human cognition and behaviour, underscoring people’s ability of comprehending speech, playing instruments and competing in sports. Accumulating evidence supports a motoric basis of timing, whereby time processing is embedded in motor control neural circuits and perceptual time undergoes distortion in proximity of action. Yet, the dynamic interplay between timing and motor systems remains under-characterized, particularly in goal-directed contexts where control is refined through practice. In a first study, we investigated this interaction by asking participants to judge brief visual durations while preparing hand movements toward either specific (Cued) or unspecified (Non-cued) targets, or during equivalent intervals without movement (Sensory). Temporal judgments were biased toward expansion in the Cued condition, and both action conditions showed progressive time expansion across trials, paralleling motor learning as indexed by decreases in action latency. EEG data revealed that these perceptual distortions arise from biased temporal encoding and decoding processes, linked to action planning and broader aspects of motor system engagement respectively. We further examined within this setup how perceptual (explicit) and motoric (implicit) timing mechanisms interact. Using a nested design that assessed both processes on a trial-by-trial basis, participants judged stimulus durations while also intercepting a target presented after a predictable interval containing the judged stimulus. Results showed that while action planning distorted perceived duration, motor-based timing remained accurate for target interception, suggesting partial decoupling between perceptual and motor timers. However, the systems also interacted: trials with faster perceptual timing (shorter perceived durations) were associated with slower motor timing (delayed responses), hinting at information leak between implicit and implicit timers. Together these findings highlight a dynamic, learning-driven coupling between perceptual time and motor control processes, wherby temporal experience is recalibrated throughout goal-directed motor learning