Animals from insects to human beings exhibit an ability to encode and recall the time that significant conditions or events in their environment are encountered, then to use the information to anticipate and prepare for the most likely time that the events are expected to recur. The anticipation of future conditions requires encoding of both a reference point in time and a sense of the temporal displacement of the expected event from the reference. Organisms interpret time in two distinct ways: (1) as cosmological time: concerned with the order and temporal congruence of stimuli and events according to the flow of time; and (2) as astronomical time, represented by the regular intervals (days, months, years) between recurring astronomical events. Therefore, organisms expect conditions to recur either according to the time since a predictive cue or according to the fixed period of a cyclic celestial event.
Much attention in the field of biological timing is focused on understanding the biological clocks (e.g. circadian, circannual, etc.) that enable organisms to synchronize physiology and behavior with reliable cycles of the physical environment. However, anticipation of important conditions often follow novel experiences, as demonstrated in time-place learning, interval recognition, food anticipation, and temporal organization of autobiographical memories. Current findings indicate that the memory for time relies on rhythmic biological systems that are anatomically and biochemically distinct from canonical circadian mechanisms, and suggest that the brain's system of sensorimotor integration, particularly ascending dopamine systems, are critical for the formation and retrieval of time memories.
The purpose of the Research Topic is to explore the various strategies responsible for different biological representations of time which underlie time memory, to identify those that are held in common and those that are distinct, and to understand how these are integrated into the ability of animals to anticipate future events.
We welcome articles that address the following themes:
- Neural representations of time
- Temporal aspects of sensorimotor integration (processing, decision-making, performance)
- Functional anatomy of time memory
- Mechanisms and anatomy of food entrainment
- Molecular and cellular foundations of time memory and time-place learning
- Rhythm generation and circadian clocks at different levels of biological organization
- Non-canonical circadian oscillators in the brain and periphery
- Mathematical modeling of cellular clocks and circadian circuits
- Formation and retention of temporal order in episodic/autobiographical
Animals from insects to human beings exhibit an ability to encode and recall the time that significant conditions or events in their environment are encountered, then to use the information to anticipate and prepare for the most likely time that the events are expected to recur. The anticipation of future conditions requires encoding of both a reference point in time and a sense of the temporal displacement of the expected event from the reference. Organisms interpret time in two distinct ways: (1) as cosmological time: concerned with the order and temporal congruence of stimuli and events according to the flow of time; and (2) as astronomical time, represented by the regular intervals (days, months, years) between recurring astronomical events. Therefore, organisms expect conditions to recur either according to the time since a predictive cue or according to the fixed period of a cyclic celestial event.
Much attention in the field of biological timing is focused on understanding the biological clocks (e.g. circadian, circannual, etc.) that enable organisms to synchronize physiology and behavior with reliable cycles of the physical environment. However, anticipation of important conditions often follow novel experiences, as demonstrated in time-place learning, interval recognition, food anticipation, and temporal organization of autobiographical memories. Current findings indicate that the memory for time relies on rhythmic biological systems that are anatomically and biochemically distinct from canonical circadian mechanisms, and suggest that the brain's system of sensorimotor integration, particularly ascending dopamine systems, are critical for the formation and retrieval of time memories.
The purpose of the Research Topic is to explore the various strategies responsible for different biological representations of time which underlie time memory, to identify those that are held in common and those that are distinct, and to understand how these are integrated into the ability of animals to anticipate future events.
We welcome articles that address the following themes:
- Neural representations of time
- Temporal aspects of sensorimotor integration (processing, decision-making, performance)
- Functional anatomy of time memory
- Mechanisms and anatomy of food entrainment
- Molecular and cellular foundations of time memory and time-place learning
- Rhythm generation and circadian clocks at different levels of biological organization
- Non-canonical circadian oscillators in the brain and periphery
- Mathematical modeling of cellular clocks and circadian circuits
- Formation and retention of temporal order in episodic/autobiographical