Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Distorted time perception in patients with transient global amnesia: time perception task and imaging analysis

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Neurological Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

Transient global amnesia (TGA) is defined as a sudden and transient episode of memory loss and accompanied by temporal disorientation. However, the mechanism by which time distortion occurs is not clearly elucidated yet.

Methods

Between March 2019 and November 2020, we subjected 30 TGA patients to several time perception tasks and analyzed their magnetic resonance image (MRI) scans and compared the results with age- and sex-matched control group.

Results

Among the 60 recruited subjects (64.5 ± 6.3 years), 70% were women. Fourteen patients had only anterograde amnesia. Furthermore, 46% of the patients with TGA (n = 14) had a history of Valsalva maneuver, and 70% of the patients (n = 21) had a pre-attack stress factor. The MRI scans of 14 patients (46.67%) showed hippocampal hyperintensity. With regard to the time production task, patients with TGA exhibited shorter times in all trials compared with their counterparts (5 s, 4.90 ± 1.16 vs. 5.53 ± 0.87; p value = 0.02: 15 s, 12.18 ± 4.55 vs. 14.42 ± 2.54; p value = 0.021). For the time comparison task, the number of correct answers given by patients with TGA was significantly lesser than that given by the control group (6.07 ± 1.23 vs. 6.90 ± 1.24; p value = 0.006).

Conclusions

This is the first study to invesgating an altered time perception in patients with TGA. Although the exact neurophysiological mechanism remains unclear, our findings could aid in the elucidation of brain function across specific time frames.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

References

  1. Allman MJ, Meck WH (2012) Pathophysiological distortions in time perception and timed performance. Brain J Neurol 135:656–677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Anderson JW, Rueda A, Schmitter-Edgecombe M (2014) The stability of time estimation in older adults. Int J Aging Hum Dev 78:259–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bartsch T, Alfke K, Deuschl G et al (2007) Evolution of hippocampal CA-1 diffusion lesions in transient global amnesia. Ann Neurol 62:475–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Brown SW (1985) Time perception and attention: the effects of prospective versus retrospective paradigms and task demands on perceived duration. Percept Psychophys 38:115–124

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Bueti D, Walsh V (2009) The parietal cortex and the representation of time, space, number and other magnitudes. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 364:1831–1840

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Cainelli E, Mioni G, Boniver C et al (2019) Time perception in childhood absence epilepsy: findings from a pilot study. Epilepsy & Behav: E&B 99:106460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Chung CP, Hsu HY, Chao AC et al (2006) Detection of intracranial venous reflux in patients of transient global amnesia. Neurology 66:1873–1877

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Eichenbaum H (2014) Time cells in the hippocampus: a new dimension for mapping memories. Nat Rev Neurosci 15:732–744

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. El Haj M, Kapogiannis D (2016) Time distortions in Alzheimer’s disease: a systematic review and theoretical integration. NPJ Aging Mech dis 2:16016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Fofi L, Giugni E, Vadalà R et al (2012) Cerebral transverse sinus morphology as detected by MR venography in patients with chronic migraine. Headache 52:1254–1261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Fontes R, Ribeiro J, Gupta DS et al (2016) Time perception mechanisms at central nervous system. Neurol Int 8:5939

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Gil S, Niedenthal PM, Droit-Volet S (2007) Anger and time perception in children. Emotion (Washington, DC) 7:219–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Grondin S (2010) Timing and time perception: a review of recent behavioral and neuroscience findings and theoretical directions. Atten Percept Psychophys 72:561–582

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Han K, Chao AC, Chang FC et al (2015) Obstruction of venous drainage linked to transient global amnesia. PLoS One 10:e0132893

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Han K, Hu HH, Chao AC et al (2019) Transient global amnesia linked to impairment of brain venous drainage: an ultrasound investigation. Front Neurol 10:67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Hikosaka O, Miyashita K, Miyachi S et al (1998) Differential roles of the frontal cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum in visuomotor sequence learning. Neurobiol Learn Mem 70:137–149

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Jang JW, Park YH, Park SY et al (2015) Longitudinal cerebral perfusion change in transient global amnesia related to left posterior medial network disruption. PLoS One 10:e0145658

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Kim J, Ghim J-W, Lee JH et al (2013) Neural correlates of interval timing in rodent prefrontal cortex. J Neurosci 33:13834

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Kim J, Ghim JW, Lee JH et al (2013) Neural correlates of interval timing in rodent prefrontal cortex. J Neurosci Off J Soc Neurosci 33:13834–13847

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Kitamura MAP, Costa LF, Silva DOA et al (2017) Cranial venous sinus dominance: what to expect? Analysis of 100 cerebral angiographies. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 75:295–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Mioni G, Mattalia G, Stablum F (2013) Time perception in severe traumatic brain injury patients: a study comparing different methodologies. Brain Cogn 81:305–312

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Moon Y, Oh J, Kwon KJ et al (2016) Transient global amnesia: only in already disrupted neuronal integrity of memory network? J Neurol Sci 368:187–190

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Wearden JH (2003) Applying the scalar timing model to human time psychology: progress and challenges. Time and mind II: Information processing perspectives. Hogrefe & Huber Publishers, Ashland, OH, US, pp 21–39

    Google Scholar 

  24. Yang Y, Kim S, Kim JH (2008) Ischemic evidence of transient global amnesia: location of the lesion in the hippocampus. J Clin Neurol (Seoul, Korea) 4:59–66

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Zaharchuk G, Fischbein NJ, Rosenberg J et al (2011) Comparison of MR and contrast venography of the cervical venous system in multiple sclerosis. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 32:1482–1489

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Zidda F, Griebe M, Ebert A et al (2019) Resting-state connectivity alterations during transient global amnesia. NeuroImage Clin 23:101869

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2018R1C1B5086320); a grant no. 2020–07 from the Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital Fund; the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No.2021R1G1A1012083).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Communication, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea

    Jarim Kim

  2. Department of Neurology, Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, 05355, Republic of Korea

    Yerim Kim

Authors
  1. Jarim Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yerim Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

YK: study concept and design, data analysis and interpretation, drafting of the manuscript, and review of the results. JK: data analysis and interpretation, drafting of the manuscript, and review of the results.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yerim Kim.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was obtained from all participants or from the next of kin when the patient’s agreement was not possible.

Ethical approval

The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board from Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital (IRB no. 2020–10-011).

Additional information

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 23 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kim, J., Kim, Y. Distorted time perception in patients with transient global amnesia: time perception task and imaging analysis. Neurol Sci 43, 5951–5958 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-022-06219-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-022-06219-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation