The Now and the Passage of Time

The notion of the “present moment” has intrigued philosophers, physicists, and psychologists alike. Here we review the literature in the physics and the neuropsychology of the “now” in order to connect those two yet unrelated fields. Such a unitary perspective helps us to explain why there cannot be an objective and absolute “now” and why we naïvely tend to believe in a cosmically extended present. In particular, invoking the recent identification in the Cognitive Neurosciences of various temporal integration windows underlying an individual’s temporal experience within physical spacetime enables us to qualify in a more precise way in what sense the now, as frequently claimed by philosophers, is mind-dependent.

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The Varieties of Presence: Hierarchical Levels of Temporal Integration

Timing & Time Perception ◽

10.1163/22134468-00002030 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 325-338 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Carlos Montemayor ◽

Marc Wittmann

Keyword(s):

Temporal Processing ◽

Conscious Experience ◽

Temporal Integration ◽

Present Moment ◽

Narrative Self ◽

Time Consciousness ◽

Hierarchical Levels ◽

Processing Mechanism ◽

Level Analysis ◽

Over Time

We propose a hierarchical, three-level analysis of the present, in terms of simultaneity of events, experienced presence, and an extended mental presence containing the narrative self. The literature on the philosophy, psychology and neuroscience of time consciousness does not precisely distinguish these varieties of presence: first, a functional moment of perception in the range of milliseconds defines what is simultaneous and successive. Below a certain threshold events are processed as co-temporal. Secondly, the experienced moment of two to three seconds is related to a temporal-processing mechanism enabling conscious experience of the present moment. Thirdly, the continuity of experience is formed by working memory in the range of multiple seconds leading to the sense of mental presence over time, generating a temporal platform for the narrative self. These varieties of presence help solve puzzles pertaining to duration and simultaneity.

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Meditation-Induced States, Vagal Tone, and Breathing Activity Are Related to Changes in Auditory Temporal Integration

Behavioral Sciences ◽

10.3390/bs9050051 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 51 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Damisela Linares Gutierrez ◽

Sebastian Kübel ◽

Anne Giersch ◽

Stefan Schmidt ◽

Karin Meissner ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Temporal Integration ◽

Present Moment ◽

Breathing Rate ◽

Mental Functioning ◽

Stimulus Interval ◽

Inter Stimulus Interval ◽

Path Analyses ◽

Before And After ◽

Induced Changes ◽

The Relationship

This study is based on the relationship between meditation, the present moment, and psychophysiology. We employed the metronome task to operationalize the extension of the present moment. A pre-post longitudinal study was conducted. The performance in the metronome task was compared before and after the interventions (meditation, story). The aim was to assess whether physiological changes (heart, breathing) during meditation influence the temporal-integration (TI) of metronome beats. Mindfulness meditators either meditated (n = 41) or listened to a story (n = 43). The heart and breathing activity were recorded during the intervention and compared to a resting-state condition. By applying path analyses we found that meditation led to an increase of the duration of integration intervals at the slowest metronome frequency (inter-stimulus interval, ISI = 3 s). After meditation, the higher the heart-rate variability (i.e., the root mean square of successive differences, RMSSD), the longer the duration of integration intervals at the fastest frequency (ISI = 0.33 s). Moreover, the higher the breathing rate during meditation, the greater the integration of intervals at ISI = 1 s. These findings add evidence to meditation-induced changes on the TI of metronome beats and the concept of the embodiment of mental functioning.

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