Competitive Neural Dynamics of Flicker-Induced Time Dilation
Abstract
Time’s Subjective Expansion (TSE) is a phenomenon where salient or dynamic stimuli are perceived as lasting longer than static or less dynamic counterparts. While previous work has modeled this in oddball paradigms using habituation dynamics, it remains unclear if the same neural mechanisms account for distortions caused by visual flicker. In this study, we conducted a temporal comparison experiment using asynchronous flickering stimuli at 20Hz, 30Hz, and 40Hz. Behavioral results demonstrate a robust, frequency-dependent time dilation effect: 40Hz stimuli are perceived as significantly longer than 20Hz stimuli, with the Point of Subjective Equality (PSE) shifting by over 90ms in the extreme condition. We apply a previously established On Center Off-Surround (OCOS) recurrent neural network model to these findings. We demonstrate that by mapping flicker density to the input clamping level (I) of the network nodes, the inherent Winner-Take-All (WTA) dynamics naturally reproduce the observed non-linear expansion of time. This suggests a unified computational mechanism where time perception is an emergent property of competitive neural dynamics, modulated equally by novelty (habituation) and sensory density (flicker).
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BibTeX
@misc{venkatesh2026competitive,
title = {{Competitive Neural Dynamics of Flicker-Induced Time Dilation}},
author = {Aarthi Venkatesh and Rakesh Sengupta},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/6bcm9_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/6bcm9_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Competitive Neural Dynamics of Flicker-Induced Time Dilation
AU - Aarthi Venkatesh
AU - Rakesh Sengupta
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/6bcm9_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/6bcm9_v1/
AB - Time’s Subjective Expansion (TSE) is a phenomenon where salient or dynamic stimuli are perceived as lasting longer than static or less dynamic counterparts. While previous work has modeled this in oddball paradigms using habituation dynamics, it remains unclear if the same neural mechanisms account for distortions caused by visual flicker. In this study, we conducted a temporal comparison experiment using asynchronous flickering stimuli at 20Hz, 30Hz, and 40Hz. Behavioral results demonstrate a robust, frequency-dependent time dilation effect: 40Hz stimuli are perceived as significantly longer than 20Hz stimuli, with the Point of Subjective Equality (PSE) shifting by over 90ms in the extreme condition. We apply a previously established On Center Off-Surround (OCOS) recurrent neural network model to these findings. We demonstrate that by mapping flicker density to the input clamping level (I) of the network nodes, the inherent Winner-Take-All (WTA) dynamics naturally reproduce the observed non-linear expansion of time. This suggests a unified computational mechanism where time perception is an emergent property of competitive neural dynamics, modulated equally by novelty (habituation) and sensory density (flicker).
ER -