04/04/2026
Mapping the Brainโs Internal Stopwatch ๐ง โฑ
Whether itโs Jannik Sinner timing a 100 mph serve or you judging how long to wait at a yellow light, the brain is constantly calculating the passage of time.
A new study has mapped the brainโs internal โstopwatchโ for the first time.
Using high-field fMRI, the team discovered that time perception isnโt a single โpingโ in one area; it is a relay race across the cerebral cortex, transforming raw visual data into a subjective experience of โlongโ or โshort.โ
How does the brain perceive time? A new fMRI study identifies a three-stage neural relay from the visual cortex to the frontal regions that constructs our subjective experience of duration and timing.