Project description
Looking for timing in the brain
Time is arguably our life’s main dimension. Proper timing is crucial to realise the goals of our everyday actions, even those as simple as speaking or shaking hands. Humans don’t have any special organ sensing time. We learn to evaluate it through our interactions with the environment. Yet, we still don’t know how the perception of time is processed in our brain. The EU-funded Time in Action project will conduct novelty research on time perception as a skill we obtain by learning goal-directed behaviours. The comprehensive study based on experiments in combination with measuring brain activity using electroencephalography aims to unfold how learning goal-directed actions relates to time perception and will enable a picture of related neuronal processes.
Objective
Timing permeates our daily experience. We extract temporal regularities to predict events, such as traffic light behaviour. We narrow down cause-effect relationships based on temporal proximity of events. Everyday behaviours, such as shaking hands or speaking, are possible because of accurate timing. Despite its importance, timing is an elusive concept. We lack a sensing organ for time (in the same way as we have eyes for detecting light), and there are no brain areas uniquely involved in its processing (in the same way as we have visual cortices for vision). Given these constraints, how does time perception arise in the brain? Converging evidence suggests a central role of action in enabling time perception. Developmental studies suggest that timing is ‘acquired’ as children learn to interact with the environment. Brain research indeed shows a considerable action/timing overlap, as timing computations are embedded in action control brain function. Indeed, at its core, successful behaviour is all about timing: accurate timing is what separates successful actions such as shifting gears, from unsuccessful ones such as bumping into a car in front of us. Thus, timing might emerge from our ability of learning goal-directed behaviour. We propose that the key to the time perception puzzle lies in formalizing this statement, by directly evaluating time perception in the context of goal-directed action learning. We will causally establish how learning of goal-directed action features shapes our perception and neural processing of time. This will be carried out across experiments requiring adults to simultaneously learn goal-directed actions and estimate the duration of visual stimuli, while recording electroencephalographic (EEG) measures of brain activity. This project will spearhead a new cross-disciplinary approach merging timing and motor learning paradigms, with a significant impact on the way we think about and methodologically approach the study of time.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2019
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
34136 Trieste
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.