Subjective time expansion with increased stimulation of intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells

Abstract

Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) contain photoreceptors that are especially sensitive to blue light. Nevertheless, how blue light and ipRGCs affect time perception remains unsolved. We used the oddball paradigm and manipulated the background light to examine whether and how blue light and ipRGCs affect perceived duration. In the oddball paradigm, participants were asked to judge the duration of the target (oddball), compared to that of the standard, with a two alternative-forced-choice procedure. When the background light was controlled to be either blue or red in Experiment 1, results showed that blue light led to longer subjective duration compared to red light. Experiment 2 further clarified the contribution of the ipRGCs. A set of multi-primary projector system that could manipulate the ipRGC stimulation were used, while the color and luminance of the background lights were kept constant throughout. Results showed that increased stimulation of ipRGCs under metameric background expanded subjective time. These results suggest that ipRGC stimulation increases arousal/attention so as to expand subjective duration.

Blue-light effects on saccadic eye movements and attentional disengagement

“…Thus, it is possible that M cones played a role in facilitating the shorter saccade latencies that we observed, given their characteristic of high temporal resolution. Future studies can adopt the metameric pairs in a projector system (e.g., Yang et al, 2018) to probe into this issue and further clarify the role of M cones in the facilitatory effect of blue light on saccade latency.…”

“…We constantly use electronic products that usually contain high-energy blue light, such as computers and cellphones, and exposure to high-energy blue light has been shown to affect various aspects of human physiological and psychological functions. To name a few, blue light has been shown to delay the time we fall asleep at night and affect our circadian rhythms (Chang, Aeschbach, Duffy, & Czeisler, 2015;Daneault, Dumont, Masse, Vandewalle, & Carrier, 2016;Schmidt, Chen, & Hattar, 2011;Studer et al, 2019;Vandewalle et al, 2006), as well as affect cognitive functions such as alertness (Beaven & Ekström, 2013;Cajochen et al, 2005;Phipps-Nelson, Redman, Schlangen, & Rajaratnam, 2009;Souman, Tinga, Te Pas, Van Ee, & Vlaskamp, 2018), visuo-spatial attention (Newman et al, 2016), working memory (Daneault et al, 2018;Vandewalle et al, 2013;Vandewalle et al, 2007;Vandewalle, Maquet, & Dijk, 2009), and time perception (Yang, Tsujimura, Matsumoto, Yamashita, & Yeh, 2018). For instance, Phipps-Nelson et al (2009) found that participants' reaction times (RTs) to the psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) were faster, and the authors attributed it to increased alertness under exposure to highintensity blue-light, compared with dim white ambient light.…”

“…and RTs were faster under blue than orange light. Yang et al (2018) adopted the oddball paradigm and found that blue light expanded the subjective duration of time compared with red light. Together, these findings of blue-light facilitatory effects on cognitive functions are compatible with the prominent role that blue light may play in our daily lives.…”

A Historically Based Review of Empirical Work on Color and Psychological Functioning: Content, Methods, and Recommendations for Future Research

“…About a dozen experiments have investigated whether viewing these colors via a painted partition, projected light (in a room or on a wall), a jersey, or a computer screen influences self-reported perceptions of the passage of time. Both between- and within-subjects designs have been used with sample sizes ranging from 8 (Yang, Tsujimura, Matsumoto, Yamashita, & Yeh, 2018) to 100 (Shi & Huang, 2017) total participants.…”

“…There has been a slightly greater emphasis on comparisons between red and blue. Here too a mixed pattern has emerged: studies have found time estimates while viewing red to be longer (Antick & Schandler, 1993; Gorn et al, 2007; Shibasaki & Masataka, 2014), shorter (Shi & Huang, 2017; Smets, 1969; Thönes et al, 2018; Yang et al, 2018), and no different (Caldwell & Jones, 1985; Küller & Mikellides, 1993; Takahashi, 2005; Wolfson & Case, 2000) relative to blue. Likewise no clear pattern has emerged in comparing time estimates while viewing yellow and blue; one study has found longer time estimates for yellow (Gorn et al, 2007), whereas another obtained null results (Takahashi, 2005).…”