Moments in Time

It has been suggested that perception and action can be understood as evolving in temporal epochs or sequential processing units. Successive events are fused into units forming a unitary experience or “psychological present.” Studies have identified several temporal integration levels on different time scales which are fundamental for our understanding of behavior and subjective experience. In recent literature concerning the philosophy and neuroscience of consciousness these separate temporal processing levels are not always precisely distinguished. Therefore, empirical evidence from psychophysics and neuropsychology on these distinct temporal processing levels is presented and discussed within philosophical conceptualizations of time experience. On an elementary level, one can identify a functional moment, a basic temporal building block of perception in the range of milliseconds that defines simultaneity and succession. Below a certain threshold temporal order is not perceived, individual events are processed as co-temporal. On a second level, an experienced moment, which is based on temporal integration of up to a few seconds, has been reported in many qualitatively different experiments in perception and action. It has been suggested that this segmental processing mechanism creates temporal windows that provide a logistical basis for conscious representation and the experience of nowness. On a third level of integration, continuity of experience is enabled by working memory in the range of multiple seconds allowing the maintenance of cognitive operations and emotional feelings, leading to mental presence, a temporal window of an individual’s experienced presence

Behandlungsbezogene Einstellungen und Behandlungsmotivationbei Patienten zweier komplementärmedizinischer Kliniken

Background: The increasing demand for complementary medicine indicates a change in attitudes regarding treatment understanding. Objectives: To investigate the role of attitudes in treatment motivation. (1) Can the study sample be subdivided into homogenous groups as regards attitudes toward complementary treatment? (2) How do these groups relate to motivational variables? Patients and Methods: Four questionnaires on motivation and attitudes were administered to 203 patients of two clinics for complementary medicine. Results were interpreted following Petry's motivational process model that distinguishes treatment disposition, preparedness for treatment and treatment activity. Results: According to a cluster analysis, 3 patient groups could be identified: `Not- convinced' patients (cluster 1, n = 24) demonstrated little conviction regarding any aspect of complementary treatment. `Convinced' patients (cluster 2, n = 103) showed a high degree of agreement on all three scales, being highest on `Role of patient'. `Partially- convinced' patients (cluster 3, n = 70) also evaluated `Role of patient' highest, but aspects of the `Physician- patient relationship' and the `Treatment method' were only partly regarded as important. In all clusters, the pragmatic motive of treatment acceptance was central for the treatment choice, but was highest in cluster 2. As compared to cluster 1, a complementary treatment understanding was higher in patients of clusters 2 and 3 ( highest in cluster 2). Discussion: Even if the pragmatic treatment motivation was high in all groups, the central role of treatment attitudes in the motivational process could be verified. Despite differing attitude structures, a majority of patients displayed a complementary treatment comprehension

Effects of emotional valence and arousal on acoustic duration reproduction assessed via the "dual klepsydra model"

We report results of an acoustic duration reproduction task with stimulus duration of 2, 4, and 6s, using 45 emotionally negative, positive, and neutral sounds from the International Affective Digitized Sounds System, in a sample of 31 young healthy participants. To investigate the influence of induced emotions on perceived duration, the effects of emotional modulation were quantified in two ways: (1) via model-free indices (aggregated ratios of reproduced times),and (2) via dual klepsydra model (Dkm)-based estimates of parameters of internal time representation. Both data-analytic approaches reveal an effect of emotional valence/arousal, namely, a significantly longer reproduction response for emotional stimuli than for the neutral stimuli. The advantage of the Dkm-based approach is its ability to disentangle stimulus-related effects, which are represented by "flow intensities," from general effects which are due to the lossy character of temporal integration. We explain the rationale of the Dkm-based strategy and interpret the observed effect within the Dkm-framework as transient increase of internal "flows." This interpretation is in line with recent conceptualizations of an "embodiment" of time where the model-posited flows correspond to the ongoing stream of interoceptive (bodily) neural signals. Neurophysiological findings on correlations between the processing of body signals and the perception of time provide cumulative evidence for this working hypothesis

The power of Dionysus—Effects of red wine on consciousness in a naturalistic setting

There is lack of research on effects of red wine on consciousness when drank in wine bars designed to enhance the pleasurableness of the wine drinking experience. Effects of a moderate dose of red wine (� 40.98 g of ethanol) on consciousness were examined in a naturalistic study taking place in a wine bar located in one of the most touristic areas of Lisbon, Portugal. One hundred two participants drank in one of three conditions: alone, in dyad, or in groups up to six people. Red wine increased pleasure and arousal, decreased the awareness of time, slowed the subjective passage of time, increased the attentional focus on the present moment, decreased body awareness, slowed thought speed, turned imagination more vivid, and made the environment become more fascinating. Red wine increased insightfulness and originality of thoughts, increased sensations of oneness with the environment, spiritual feelings, all-encompassing love, and profound peace. All changes in consciousness occurred regardless of volunteers drinking alone, in dyad or in group. Men and women did not report different changes in consciousness. Older age correlated with greater increases in pleasure. Younger age correlated with greater increases in fascination with the environment of the wine bar. Drinking wine in a contemporaneous Western environment designed to enhance the pleasurableness of the wine drinking experience may trigger changes in consciousness commonly associated with mystical-type statesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The phenomenology and cognitive neuroscience of experienced temporality

We discuss the three dominant models of the phenomenological literature pertaining to temporal consciousness, namely the cinematic, the retentional, and the extensional model. By relying on the distinction between acts and contents of consciousness we first discuss the explanatory merits of these three views vis à vis our temporal experience. In the second part of the paper, we review some relevant findings from the psychology and neuroscience of temporality in order to evaluate which of the three models of time consciousness is better confirmed from an empirical viewpoint. Depending on the time scale, all of the three models of temporal consciousness might be justified but we claim that the empirical evidence favours the extensional model, where the acts and contents of consciousness are both extended. The retentional model might apply to longer time intervals covered by working memory but, similarly to the cinematic model, it is open to the objection that from a neurophysiological point of view the brain processes which underlie acts of consciousness must necessarily be extended in time. We conclude by stressing a so-far neglected predictive component that is to be regarded as decisive for an understanding of our experience of temporality

Mindful Leader Development: How Leaders Experience the Effects of Mindfulness Training on Leader Capabilities

Mindfulness training is a novel method of leader development but contrary to its rising popularity, there is a scarcity of research investigating how mindfulness training may affect leader capabilities. To gain a better understanding of the potential of a new research field, qualitative research is advantageous. We sought to understand how senior leaders experience the impact of mindfulness training in their work lives and leadership ability. The sample comprised 13 leaders (n = 11 male) working in six organizations that completed a 10-week workplace mindfulness training (WMT). We conducted semi-structured interviews 6 to 12 months following course completion. We analyzed the data following thematic analysis steps and based on these findings, we devised a framework of the perceived impact of mindfulness training on self-leadership and leadership capabilities. We show that WMT exhibited impact on three self-leadership capacities: mindful task management, self-care and self-reflection and two leadership capacities: relating to others and adapting to change. Participants’ recounts additionally suggested effects may expand to the level of the team and the organization. We show that WMT may be a promising tool for self-directed leadership development and outline avenues for future research

The Neural Substrates of Subjective Time Dilation

An object moving towards an observer is subjectively perceived as longer in duration than the same object that is static or moving away. This ”time dilation effect” has been shown for a number of stimuli that differ from standard events along different feature dimensions (e.g. color, size, and dynamics). We performed an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, while subjects viewed a stream of five visual events, all of which were static and of identical duration except the fourth one, which was a deviant target consisting of either a looming or a receding disc. The duration of the target was systematically varied and participants judged whether the target was shorter or longer than all other events. A time dilation effect was observed only for looming targets. Relative to the static standards, the looming as well as the receding targets induced increased activation of the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortices (the ”core control network”). The decisive contrast between looming and receding targets representing the time dilation effect showed strong asymmetric activation and, specifically, activation of cortical midline structures (the ”default network”). These results provide the first evidence that the illusion of temporal dilation is due to activation of areas that are important for cognitive control and subjective awareness. The involvement of midline structures in the temporal dilation illusion is interpreted as evidence that time perception is related to self-referential processing

Prevalence of visual snow and relation to attentional absorption

Visual snow is a condition of unclear prevalence characterized by tiny flickering dots throughout the entire visual field. It appears to result from visual cortex hyperactivity and possibly correlates with propensity to be engrossed in sensory and imaginary experiences (absorption). The prevalence and correlates of visual snow, and emotional reactions to it, were explored in the general Portuguese population with three studies with online surveys. In Study 1, 564 participants were shown an animated graphic simulation of visual snow and asked to rate how frequently they have similar percepts on a scale anchored by 0% and 100% of their waking time. They also reported their degree of distress and fascination resulting from visual snow. Absorption was measured with the Modified Tellegen Absorption Scale. 44% of respondents reported they see visual snow at least 10% of the time, and 20% reported seeing it between 80% and 100% of the time. Similar to findings in clinical samples, the frequency of visual snow correlated with tinnitus frequency and entoptic phenomena, but not with ophthalmologic problems. It was confirmed that visual snow is related to absorption. Although distress caused by visual snow was generally absent or minimal in our samples, a substantial minority (28%) reported moderate to high levels of distress. High fascination with visual snow was reported by 9%. In Studies 2 and 3, visual snow was measured by means of verbal descriptions without graphic simulation (“visual field full of tiny dots of light” and “world seen with many dots of light”, respectively). The results were similar to those in Study 1, but seeing visual snow 80%-100% of the time was less frequent (6.5% in Study 2 and 3.6% in Study 3). Visual snow has been insufficiently investigated. More research is needed to uncover underlying neurophysiological mechanisms and psychological and behavioral correlates.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio