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Temporality and the brain: the long and winding emergence of time in cognitive neuroscience

Understanding how our sensory systems generate coherent experiences of the world has been an outstanding quest for centuries. Throughout history, philosophers, biologists, psychologists, and – in the past few decades - cognitive neuroscientists have sought answers to how our brain generates thinking and feeling, behavior, and consciousness. Among the most fundamental aspects of conscious experience is the perception of time. In this talk I will discuss a bias that has characterized this quest: a spatial approach to understanding the neural mechanisms of cognition. I will critically assess this emphasis, offer a historical account, and point to its tacit assumptions and limitations. I will highlight key moments when opportunities to incorporate temporal principles were overlooked. Drawing on recent examples, I will discuss the potential of integrating the temporal domain into our understanding of the brain. Finally, I will show how a temporal prism can illuminate the study of mechanisms of time perception.

Time is experienced in myriad ways, between periods of high stability and instability, governing the ways in which we experience everyday moments, encode memories, make decisions, plan and organize our thoughts. The time perception researcher is thus faced with a challenge unlike other domains: whence to begin?<br>At the TRF2 meeting, we held a special event dedicated to the near-term goals of time perception research &ndash; the timing &ldquo;moonshot&rdquo;; in this symposium, we will bidirectionally extend this horizon to provide an overview of the past, the present, and the future of time perception research. That is, what does the history and emergence of timing research tell us about where it may be headed? What are the challenges, both common to other disciplines and unique to our own, in studying &ldquo;time&rdquo;? What answers have we achieved, with the advent of new technologies and recording techniques, and what remains unknown, or unknowable? Each of the four speakers will thus provide their own unique perspective on these questions. Unlike other symposia, the talks will be shorter in length and will be followed by a panel discussion among the speakers with a moderator and questions. The intended audience is early career scientists and students, with the goal being to help guide future inquiries and enable success, whether continuing in time perception research or exploring other domains.

Symposium 4: The Varieties of Temporal Experience: The Past, Present, and Future of Time Perception Research

Timing Research Forum 4

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[S4-04]Temporality and the brain: the long and winding emergence of time in cognitive neuroscience

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