Time perception and motor timing: a common cortical and subcortical basis revealed by fMRI

Abstract

Though it is well known that humans perceive the temporal features of the environment incessantly, the brain mechanisms underlying temporal processing are relatively unexplored. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used in this study to identify brain activations during sustained perceptual analysis of auditorally and visually presented temporal patterns (rhythms). Our findings show that the neural network supporting time perception involves the same brain areas that are responsible for the temporal planning and coordination of movements. These results indicate that time perception and motor timing rely on similar cerebral structures.