Pre-semantically defined temporal windows for cognitive processing

Abstract

Neuronal oscillations of different frequencies are hypothesized to be basic for temporal perception; this theoretical concept provides the frame to discuss two temporal mechanisms that are thought to be essential for cognitive processing. One such mechanism operates with periods of oscillations in the range of some tens of milliseconds, and is used for complexity reduction of temporally and spatially distributed neuronal activities. Experimental evidence comes from studies on temporal-order threshold, choice reaction time, single-cell activities, evoked responses in neuronal populations or latency distributions of oculomotor responses. The other mechanism refers to pre-semantic integration in the temporal range of approximately 2-3 s. Experimental evidence comes from studies on temporal reproduction, sensorimotor synchronization, intentional movements, speech segmentation, the shift rate of ambiguous stimuli in the visual or auditory modality or the temporal modulation of the mismatch negativity. These different observations indicate the existence of a universal process of temporal integration underlying the mental machinery. This process is believed to be basic for maintenance and change of perceptual identity. Owing to the omnipresence of this kind of temporal segmentation, it is suggested to use this process for a pragmatic definition of the states of being conscious or the 'subjective presence'.

A "Conceptual Nervous System" for multiple sclerosis.

“…The periodicity of mental activity was documented by Pöppel and others in a series of psychophysical studies (Schleidt, Eibl-Eibesfeldt, & Pöppel, 1987; for recent review, see Pöppel, 2009)Temporal segmentation of human activity is observed in a series of daily living activities, such as gesture-making, perception, poetry, and music (Haase et al, 1997). A role for oscillatory neural activity in building psychologically relevant neuronal assemblies has been emphasized by Singer (1993;Fries, Nikolic, & Singer, 2007) in a series of neurophysiological studies conducted over the past 20 years.…”

“…The second formal function is the temporal organization of operations in the system, which can be called chronometric or synchronized timing. From a series of psychophysical studies, Pöppel (1993Pöppel ( , 2009 proposed that mental activity is organized periodically and that the pacemaker results from the oscillatory nature of neuronal activity, with information reverberating in cortico-subcortico-cortical loops. Mental events that occur in the synchronization of oscillatory neuronal phenomena, which has an upper limit of a few seconds, correspond to the so-called psychological moment of classical authors (James, 1890).…”

“…According to cognitive theory, the human brain may be conceptualized as a computational system (Pöppel, 1993(Pöppel, , 2009; see Box 1). Perceptual processes are comparable to the information input, whereas external or internal action corresponds to the system output.…”

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“…For example in visual and auditory perception in humans the transduction of the acoustic information is much shorter then the visual [30]. In it is suggested that in humans a temporal window with the duration of 3 s is created [15]. This window represents the psychological concept of "now" [29].…”

“…It is preformed subconsciously by our brain as a coherent explanation of events in a temporal window [15]. Events with higher surprise are more difficult to explain and require more energy.…”