How the Brain Works The Facts Visually Explained by DK (z-lib.org)

CONSCIOUSNESS AND THE SELF

Time

Packets of time

One cycle of a brain

clock equals one

“packet” of time, which

we register as a single

event. Just as a camera

with a higher frame rate

will capture more details

in a sequence of events,

faster rates of neuronal

firing will create more

time packets, registering

more events.

The timekeeper brain

Our concept of time is linked to a neural network

involved in memory and attention. Neurons in the

network fire, or “oscillate,” and the brain uses this to

keep time. The more oscillations in a measured second,

the more we think that time is lasting longer. Events

(such as near-death experiences), state of mind (such as

depression), stimulants (such as caffeine), and disease

(such as Parkinson’s disease) can all affect the rate at

which the neurons fire, skewing our perception of time.

Time

We can measure time objectively—by hours, minutes,

and seconds—with clocks, but our brain also helps us

keep track of time passing. Our internal clocks are all set

at different speeds and even change within our lifetime.

0.2 0.25 0.3

The dopamine clock

Another one of the brain’s

clocks is formed of the oscillation,

or cycle, of dopamine flowing between

the substantia nigra, basal ganglia, and

prefrontal cortex.

0.1

Frames 3 and 4

are in separate

packets, so

movements seen

as two events

Frames 1 and 2 seen

as one packet, so we

see only one event

Dopamine cycle

doubles in speed

Anterior part

of prefrontal

cortex

Direction of

dopamine flow

Basal ganglia

Substantia nigra

Time (seconds)

FRAME 1 FRAME 2 FRAME 3 FRAME 4

TIME PACKET 1 TIME PACKET 2 TIME PACKET 3

Distance can skew our perception

of time. If three lights flash one after

another at equal time intervals (of

10 seconds, for example) but the

distance between lights “B” and “C” is

greater than the distance between “A”

and “B,” it will create the illusion that

the time between “B” and “C” flashing

was longer than 10 seconds.

TIME ILLUSIONS

4 IN (10 CM) 8 IN (20 CM)

“B” flashes 10

seconds after “A”

“C” flashes 10

seconds after “B”

A B C

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