Judging Time

[aj47]

How is the brain involved in judging how much time passes between events?

 

For example if i were fall asleep, on waking I would automaticaly know if I had been sleeping for half an hour or six hours. Or thinking back to my childhood if I think of two memories from a similar age, I always know which one occured first. How does your brain order memories like this?

[Steph]

How is the brain involved in judging how much time passes between events?

 

For example if i were fall asleep' date=' on waking I would automaticaly know if I had been sleeping for half an hour or six hours. Or thinking back to my childhood if I think of two memories from a similar age, I always know which one occured first. How does your brain order memories like this?[/quote']

 

you really know how long you've been sleeping? personally, unless I have a clock, i'm completely clueless.

about the memories, you are right... i don't have an answer, and am curious about this too.

[insane_alien]

visual clues, how bright it is, the angle of sunlight if you can see it, how rested you feel. if your in a plain room thats either lit or in complete darkness and with no windows then you have no idea.

[Dark Photon]

i will awnser your question.

 

 

it hasnt got to do with visual aid.

 

there is a gathering of 20,000 cells deep inside our brains.

these cells pulse at different frequencies, and you brain calculates the differences between these frquencies to work out a unit of time. then your brain will assign one unit of "brain time" to any other unit in you consicense self.

 

so say X number of "braintimes" per miniute

 

then your mindclock will eb able to judge time with reasonable accuracy.

 

--------------------------

 

they say that time slows down when we are in a life theatening situation.

 

this is not true, however on our observation time apears to slow down. our body clock adjusts to give us more reacting time. various drugs will also affect our body clock.

 

 

all of this has been tested and confirmed.

[aj47]

i will awnser your question.

 

 

it hasnt got to do with visual aid.

 

there is a gathering of 20' date='000 cells deep inside our brains.

these cells pulse at different frequencies, and you brain calculates the differences between these frquencies to work out a unit of time. then your brain will assign one unit of "brain time" to any other unit in you consicense self.

 

so say X number of "braintimes" per miniute

 

then your mindclock will eb able to judge time with reasonable accuracy.

 

--------------------------

 

they say that time slows down when we are in a life theatening situation.

 

this is not true, however on our observation time apears to slow down. our body clock adjusts to give us more reacting time. various drugs will also affect our body clock.

 

 

all of this has been tested and confirmed.[/quote']

 

Thanks thats really interesting, do you know what these groups of cells are called as I'd like to find out more about them.

 

I remember a while ago reading about something similar which talked about children with Adhd and how there internal clocks are irregular and time seems to speed up and slow down for them. I'll try and find it again but it was probably talking about the same thing.

[sunspot]

There is a part of the brain that is a pacekeeper. I believe it is associated with the hypothalamus? I may be wrong and it may be in the brainstem. Animals also have this and it is used to control instinctive rhythms, yet they appear unaware of time, as we know it as a concept. A dog will know when the master is coming home or the time for its walk, but it not aware that time is passing between.

 

Using those considerations it is probably connected to the frontal lobe and the imagination. This allows us to extrapolated from time standards such as days, seasons, stages of life, etc.

[aj47]

Apparantly the areas are in the basal ganglia and parental lobe.

 

Interseting article I found - http://unisci.com/stories/20011/0227013.htm