Differences between sub-second and supra-second durations for the assessment of timing deficits in amnestic mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

Previous studies have often reported timing deficits in older adults with different degrees of cognitive decline, however, the exact nature of impairments in time perception is still to be elucidated. In particular, it is unclear if the deficits are more pronounced for short or long intervals, consistent with notions that different cognitive processes and neuroanatomical areas are involved in the processing of durations of different ranges. The present study aims to further investigate timing abilities in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients and age-matched controls. Participants were asked to decide whether an acoustic event occurred within the first or the second half of a reference duration. The results revealed a bias towards larger PSE values and reduced precision in aMCI patients compared to healthy controls. Further analyses showed that the bias towards larger PSE values correlated with memory performance, especially when sub-second durations were tested. Overall, the results demonstrate that memory deficits in aMCI patients coincide with changes in time perception in the sub-second interval range.