Current-source density analysis of slow brain potentials during time estimation

Abstract

Two event-related potential studies were conducted to investigate differential brain correlates of temporal processing of intervals below and above 3-4 s. In the first experiment, 24 participants were presented with auditorily marked target durations of 2, 4, and 6 s that had to be reproduced. Timing accuracy was similar for all three target durations. As revealed by current-source density analysis, slow-wave components during both presentation and reproduction were independent of target duration. Experiment 2 examined potential modulating effects of type of interval (filled and empty) and presentation mode (randomized and blocked presentation of target durations). Behavioral and slow-wave findings were consistent with those of Experiment 1. Thus, the present findings support the notion of a general timing mechanism irrespective of interval duration as proposed by scalar timing theory and pacemaker-counter models of time estimation.