An important issue in cognitive science is time perception (TP) and its underlying processes. Researchers
have attempted to study time from various aspects (e.g., order, duration). For example, one wonders how
we perceive synchronous and unified multisensory events, given that different sensory systems require
varying amounts of time to receive and process a given input. Longstanding questions relate to the neural
and cognitive mechanisms controlling TP. How does the perception of time become distorted and what
factors modulate this change? How can we advance neurorehabilitation through the study of time? Other
questions concern time’s interactions with action, space, memory, attention, and language;
consciousness; development; and neurological/psychiatric conditions. Until now, scientists have been
trying to answer these fundamental questions, most often from a single-discipline perspective. It is clear,
however, that multiple disciplines must meet and collaborate in order to resolve these questions; to this
day this union has not been attempted.
Thus, this COST Action aims to tackle TP issues by bringing together scientists involved in the study of
time from different perspectives. This will allow us to exchange ideas, develop strategies for solving
problems, develop research materials/tools, and design a network for a common multidisciplinary effort to
disentangle the issues of TP. To date, researchers, in isolation or in conflict, have produced new
knowledge on TP. This knowledge is coupled with many problems (within/across disciplines) and a number
of unanswered questions, that mainly relate with:
Definition and measurement of time: Currently, there is no common code of communication as to
the different aspects of TP. A debatable definition also leads to problematic measurement methodology.
Resolving performance-variability issues in TP: High variability in the perception of time has been
reported within and between individuals. This variability represents a barrier in understanding time.
Extending time research to ecologically-valid stimuli: The majority of time-research has focused on
simple stimuli, making necessary the use of more informationally-rich stimuli for advancing TP research.
Uncovering the neural correlates of TP: Advances in neuroimaging allow us to observe the brain-
in-action. We need to identify the techniques appropriate for TP and examine time distortions in specific