
pmid: 30897088
pmc: PMC6428248
Time is a fundamental dimension of everyday experiences. We can unmistakably sense its passage and adjust our behavior accordingly. Despite its ubiquity, the neuronal mechanisms underlying the capacity to perceive time remains unclear. Here, in two experiments using ultrahigh-field 7-Tesla (7T) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we show that in the medial premotor cortex (supplementary motor area [SMA]) of the human brain, neural units tuned to different durations are orderly mapped in contiguous portions of the cortical surface so as to form chronomaps. The response of each portion in a chronomap is enhanced by neighboring durations and suppressed by nonpreferred durations represented in distant portions of the map. These findings suggest duration-sensitive tuning as a possible neural mechanism underlying the recognition of time and demonstrate, for the first time, that the representation of an abstract feature such as time can be instantiated by a topographical arrangement of duration-sensitive neural populations.
Adult, Male, Brain Mapping, QH301-705.5, Motor Cortex, Brain, Motor Activity, Adult; Brain/physiology; Brain Mapping/methods; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods; Male; Motor Activity/physiology; Motor Cortex/physiology; Young Adult, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Young Adult, Humans, Female, Biology (General), Research Article
Adult, Male, Brain Mapping, QH301-705.5, Motor Cortex, Brain, Motor Activity, Adult; Brain/physiology; Brain Mapping/methods; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods; Male; Motor Activity/physiology; Motor Cortex/physiology; Young Adult, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Young Adult, Humans, Female, Biology (General), Research Article
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 86 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 1% | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Top 10% | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Top 1% |
