Subjective Time in Ordinary and Non-ordinary States of Consciousness: How Interoceptive Feelings Inform Us About the Passage of Time.
Marc Wittmann, Sylvie Droit-Volet
Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences 2025 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2024_520 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness |
| Keywords | Embodiment Emotions Interoception Time |
| Key points | Argues that the sense of time is strongly embodied, grounded in ascending physiological signals and bodily awareness. |
Abstract
In accordance with Bud (A.D.) Craig's theories, we maintain that ascending physiological signals in their temporal dynamics are a necessary prerequisite for human time judgments. Functional neuroimaging and psychophysiological evidence have increasingly demonstrated that the subjective judgment of time is based on the physical and emotional self. The psychological literature reveals how emotions and related body feelings shape subjective time. Empirical studies of altered states of consciousness, namely meditative states, are also of prime interest as the perception of the physical state is strongly modulated and thereby affects the subjective experience of time. Our conclusion is that the sense of time is strongly embodied.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on altered states of consciousness, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Altered States of Consciousness | 1966 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Functional neuroanatomy of altered states of consciousness: The transient hypofrontality hypothesis | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death | 1969 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| A neurophenomenological approach to non-ordinary states of consciousness: hypnosis, meditation, and psychedelics | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Hypnotic phenomena and altered states of consciousness: a multilevel framework of description and explanation | 2003 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 33
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- Attending to the present: mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reference Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience August 13, 2007
- Mindfulness meditation training alters cortical representations of interoceptive attention Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience June 11, 2012
- Investigation of mindfulness meditation practitioners with voxel-based morphometry Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience December 3, 2007
- Effects of psilocybin on time perception and temporal control of behaviour in humans Journal of Psychopharmacology May 20, 2006
and 28 more in the library