The clock that times us

Electromagnetic signatures of
time estimation

Tadeusz Wadysaw Kononowicz

Cover design by

Magda Nowatorska (drawing)

mag.now1994@wp.pl
Mateusz Matula (editing)
mateuszmatula@hotmail.com

Layout by

Mateusz Matula

Printed by

Off Page (offpage.nl)

Copyright: Tadeusz W. Kononowicz, Groningen, The Netherlands, 2015

All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced, stored in a
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permission of the author and the publisher holding copyright of the published
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ISBN 978-90-367-7984-5 (Paperbackedition)

ISBN 978-90-367-7983-8 (PDF edition)

The clock that times us

Electromagnetic signatures of time estimation
PhD thesis
to obtain the degree of PhD at the
University of Groningen
on the authority of the
Rector Magnificus Prof. E. Sterken
and in accordance with
the decision by the College of Deans.
This thesis will be defended in public on
Thursday 18 June 2015 at 11.00 hours
by

Tadeusz Wadysaw Kononowicz

born on 13 February 1985
in Bystrzyca Kodzka, Poland

Dedicated to,
the loved ones
and
in memory of my grandparents

Contents
Chapter 1
General Introduction.... 9
Chapter 2
Slow potentials in time estimation: The role of temporal accumulation and
habituation..19
Chapter 3
Contingent negative variation and its relation to time estimation: A
theoretical evaluation...41
Chapter 4
Neuroelectromagnetic correlates of reproduction of supra-second durations
...51
Chapter 5
Decoupling interval timing and climbing neural activity: A
dissociationbetween CNV and N1P2 amplitudes.. 73
Appendix.... 92
Chapter 6
Beta oscillatory activity indexes time estimation..95
Appendix....111
Chapter 7
General discussion: A review of electro-magnetic correlates of interval
timing, before, during and after the to-be-timed interval..113
References......................................................................................128
Nederlandse samenvatting........................................................142
Acknowledgements....145
Publication list.146

Propositions
1. Although the exact neural mechanism that drives climbing neural activity (CNA) remains unknown,
it must be a very general neural process as CNA-like ramping patterns have been found in many
different brain areas (this thesis).
2. It is implausible that such a prevailing property of neural dynamics as CNA is exclusively linked
with a specific brain function such as the accumulation of temporal pulses as is proposed by the
pacemaker-accumulator model (this thesis).
3. The CNV is based on temporal information, but it does not express timing processes per se (this
thesis).
4. The N1P2 amplitudes to the offset of temporally relevant tones are a better reflection of internal,
subjective time than the CNV (this thesis).
5. Initial motor inhibition plays an important role in interval production, and inhibition can be
interpreted as a biased starting point of the decision processes involved in time estimation (this
thesis).
6. The CNV is a better marker for the investigation of the continuous preparatory processes in interval
timing than its magnetic counterpart, the CMV (this thesis).
7. The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool (Richard
P. Feynman).
8. How often the powerful vibration of the locomotive and the spiritual solitude of the railway car
suggest ideas that are ultimately confirmed in the laboratory (Santiago Raymond y Cajal, Advice for
a Young Investigator).
9. You should abandon science if you dont feel growing enthusiasm and a growing sense of power
when working with a difficult problem if your soul isnt flooded with the emotion of anticipated
pleasure when approaching the long-awaited and solemn moment of the fiat lux (Santiago Raymond
y Cajal, Advice for a Young Investigator).
10. Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions (John Randolph).