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Neural mechanisms for timing visual events are spatially selective in real-world coordinates

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Abstract

It is generally assumed that perceptual events are timed by a centralized supramodal clock. This study challenges this notion in humans by providing clear evidence that visual events of subsecond duration are timed by visual neural mechanisms with spatially circumscribed receptive fields, localized in real-world, rather than retinal, coordinates.

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Figure 1: Illustration of stimuli and the effect of adaptation on perceived duration.
Figure 2: Average perceived duration for the control and three adaptation conditions (color-coded as for Fig. 1b).

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the European Commission Sixth Framework Programme (NEST, MEMORY), the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and the Italian Ministry of Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Università Degli Studi di Firenze, via S. Nicolò 89, Florence, Italy

    David Burr & Arianna Tozzi

  2. School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Stirling Hw, Nedlands, 6009, WA, Australia

    David Burr

  3. Isitituto di Neuroscienze del CNR, via Moruzzi 1, Pisa, Italy

    David Burr & Arianna Tozzi

  4. Facoltà di Psicologia, Università Vita e Salute “San Raffaele,” via Olgettina 58, Milan, Italy

    M Concetta Morrone

Authors
  1. David Burr
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  2. Arianna Tozzi
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  3. M Concetta Morrone
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Correspondence to David Burr.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Burr, D., Tozzi, A. & Morrone, M. Neural mechanisms for timing visual events are spatially selective in real-world coordinates. Nat Neurosci 10, 423–425 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn1874

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