Can disorders of subjective time inform the differential diagnosis of psychiatric disorders? A transdiagnostic taxonomy of time.
Lachlan Kent, Barnaby Nelson, Georg Northoff
Early Intervention in Psychiatry March 1, 2023 DOI: 10.1111/eip.13333 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Philosophy of mind |
| Keywords | Empirical testing Mental disorders Subjective time Transdiagnostic classification |
| Citations | 35 |
| Key points | Proposes a Transdiagnostic Taxonomy of (disordered) Time that maps psychiatric disorders onto a 2 × 2 × 2 state space, differentiating macro-level phenomenal temporal distortions from micro-level temporal processing distortions. |
Abstract
Time is a core aspect of psychopathology with potential for clinical use and early intervention. Temporal experience, perception, judgement and processing are distorted in various psychiatric disorders such as mood (depression and mania), anxiety, autistic, impulse-control, dissociative and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders. Can these disorders of time be used as early diagnostic or predictive markers? To answer this question, we develop a Transdiagnostic Taxonomy of (disordered) Time (TTT) that maps on to the symptomatological, phenomenal, perceptual and functional descriptions of each underlying disorder in a 2 × 2 × 2 state space. Temporal distortions may precede functional decline, and so assist efforts at early detection and intervention in at-risk groups. Firstly, this article integrates a psychological model of how time is processed with a subjective or phenomenological model of how time is experienced or perceived. Secondly, the integrated combined model of time is then used to heuristically map major psychiatric disorders on to the basic elements of temporal flow and integration. The TTT systematically describes the basic temporal nature of eight diagnostic categories of psychiatric illness. It differentiates between diagnoses primarily associated with distorted "macro-level" phenomenal temporal experiences (i.e. anxiety, dissociation/PTSD, depression, and mania) from those primarily related to distorted 'micro-level' temporal processing (i.e. psychotic, impulse-control, autistic and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders). The TTT allows differential diagnostic classification of various psychiatric disorders in terms of a possible underlying time disorder, making it useful for future diagnostic and predictive purposes using novel techniques of temporal processing, time perception, passage of time, and time perspective.
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Citations in the library
Cited by 10
- Connecting brain and mind through temporo-spatial dynamics: Towards a theory of common currency. Physics of Life Reviews March 1, 2025
- From Experience to Symptoms: A Multilayer Hierarchy of Psychopathological Dimensions in Schizophrenia. Psychopathology June 30, 2025
- Lost in time and space? Multisensory processing of peripersonal space and time perception in people with frequent experiences of depersonalisation. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology June 1, 2025
- [Spatiotemporal psychopathology-German version of the Scale for Space and Time Experience in Psychosis (STEP) : A validated measurement instrument for the assessment of spatial and temporal experience in psychotic disorders]. Der Nervenarzt September 1, 2023
- Lost in time and space? Multisensory processing of peripersonal space and time perception in Depersonalisation May 19, 2023
and 5 more in the library
Cites 11
- Moments in Time Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience 2011
- Abnormal Time Experiences in Major Depression: An Empirical Qualitative Study Psychopathology December 15, 2016
- Too Fast or Too Slow? Time and Neuronal Variability in Bipolar Disorder—A Combined Theoretical and Empirical Investigation Schizophrenia Bulletin March 14, 2017
- Temporal structure of consciousness and minimal self in schizophrenia. Frontiers in Psychology 2014
- Disturbed time experience during and after psychosis Schizophrenia Research: Cognition March 21, 2019
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