Subjective time estimation in Antarctica: The impact of extreme environments and isolation on a time production task

Subjective time estimation in Antarctica: The impact of extreme environments and isolation on a time production task

•Short and Intermediate morning interval productions increased along the year.•Intermediate evening interval productions increased during polar night.•Morning performances might be influenced by emotional variations due to isolation.•Evening performances might be modulated by circadian dysregulation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroscience letters Vol. 725; p. 134893
Main Authors: Tortello, Camila, Agostino, Patricia V., Folgueira, Agustín, Barbarito, Marta, Cuiuli, Juan M., Coll, Matías, Golombek, Diego A., Plano, Santiago A., Vigo, Daniel E.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 23-04-2020
Subjects:
Adult
Antarctic Regions - epidemiology
Antarctica
Circadian Rhythm - physiology
Circadian rhythms
Extreme environment
Extreme Environments
Humans
Interval timing
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Military Personnel - psychology
Neuropsychological Tests
Photoperiod
Polar night
Seasons
Social Isolation - psychology
Time Perception - physiology
Antarctic Regions
Circadian rhythms
Antarctica
Interval timing
Extreme environment
Polar night
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Summary:•Short and Intermediate morning interval productions increased along the year.•Intermediate evening interval productions increased during polar night.•Morning performances might be influenced by emotional variations due to isolation.•Evening performances might be modulated by circadian dysregulation. Interval timing measures time estimation in the seconds-to-minutes range. Antarctica provides a real-world context to study the effect of extreme photoperiods and isolation on time perception. The aim of this study was to explore interval timing as a cognitive measure in the crew of Belgrano II Argentine Antarctic Station. A total of 13 subjects were assessed for interval timing in short (3 s), intermediate (6 s) and long (12 s) duration stimuli. Measures were taken during the morning and evening, five times along the year. Significant variations were found for 3 s and 6 s during the morning and 6 s during the evening. Results suggest an impact of isolation on morning performances and an effect of the polar night on evening measures. These findings shed some light on the use of interval timing as a cognitive test to assess performance in extreme environments.
ISSN:0304-3940
1872-7972
DOI:10.1016/j.neulet.2020.134893