Time perception
To understand the neural mechanisms of time perception, we combine psychophysical, behavioral, and computational approaches to address the relationship between the timing of perception and the timing of neural signals. We are currently engaged in experiments that explore temporal encoding, time warping, manipulations of the perception of causality, time perception in schizophrenia, and time perception in high-adrenaline situations. We use this data to explore how neural signals processed by different brain regions come together for a temporally unified picture of the world.
- For more about our time research, see coverage by Popular Science magazine, Los Angeles Times, Discovery Channel, PBS, BBC radio, or Discover Magazine. For extra credit in the time domain, do all six at once.
For a popular-science essay that lays out the mysteries of time perception, see my essay Brain Time (published in What's Next? Dispatches on the Future of Science. M. Brockman, Ed).
For a more detailed explanation of the how and why of our scientific approach, see our experimental questions.
From the Blog
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Will Self
The author Will Self and I appeared on stage together to discuss life, death, and what makes good writing.
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CNN's Next List - video profile
I was named a CNN Next List Fellow. Watch two clips from the show.
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British musician Jarvis Cocker reads from Sum
Hear British rocker Jarvis Cocker read the short story "Descent of Species" from Sum.
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The Science of Waiting
For many years I've been studying how human brains perceive the passage of time.
