RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 When the Heart Meets the Mind: Exploring the Brain–Heart Interaction during Time Perception
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP e2039232024
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2039-23.2024
VO 44
IS 34
A1 Khoshnoud, Shiva
A1 Leitritz, David
A1 Çinar Bozdağ, Meltem
A1 Alvarez Igarzábal, Federico
A1 Noreika, Valdas
A1 Wittmann, Marc
YR 2024
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/44/34/e2039232024.abstract
AB Recent studies suggest that time estimation relies on bodily rhythms and interoceptive signals. We provide the first direct electrophysiological evidence suggesting an association between the brain's processing of heartbeat and duration judgment. We examined heartbeat-evoked potential (HEP) and contingent negative variation (CNV) during an auditory duration-reproduction task and a control reaction-time task spanning 4, 8, and 12 s intervals, in both male and female participants. Interoceptive awareness was assessed with the Self-Awareness Questionnaire (SAQ) and interoceptive accuracy through the heartbeat-counting task (HCT). Results revealed that SAQ scores, but not the HCT, correlated with mean reproduced durations with higher SAQ scores associating with longer and more accurate duration reproductions. Notably, the HEP amplitude changes during the encoding phase of the timing task, particularly within 130–270 ms (HEP1) and 470–520 ms (HEP2) after the R-peak, demonstrated interval-specific modulations that did not emerge in the control task. A significant ramp-like increase in HEP2 amplitudes occurred during the duration-encoding phase of the timing but not during the control task. This increase within the reproduction phase of the timing task correlated significantly with the reproduced durations for the 8 s and the 4 s intervals. The larger the increase in HEP2, the greater the under-reproduction of the estimated duration. CNV components during the encoding phase of the timing task were more negative than those in the reaction-time task, suggesting greater executive resources orientation toward time. We conclude that interoceptive awareness (SAQ) and cortical responses to heartbeats (HEP) predict duration reproductions, emphasizing the embodied nature of time.