The interrelation between the experience of time and space
It has long been stressed that the physical dimensions of time and space bear some intriguing similarities, culminating in the concept of spacetime. These considerations raise the interesting question of whether and how the perceptual dimensions of time and space are interrelated.
Does the perception of time and space emerge from the same neuronal system? In accordance with this assumption, it was found that hippocampal place cells additionally exhibit a temporal firing pattern. Neurons in the rodents hippocampus and entorhinal cortex seem to code similarly for specific locations in space and for specific moments in time.
In several behavioral and imaging studies I investigate the mutual interactions between time and space. One of the specific questions I am targeting refers to the symmetry (or asymmetry) of space-time interactions. In a current DFG-funded project I will investigate the development of time-space interferences in advanced age.
Key publications:
Riemer, M., Shine, J.P., & Wolbers, T. (2018). On the (a)symmetry between the perception of time and space in large-scale environments. Hippocampus, 28: 539-548. [link]
Riemer, M., Diersch, N., Bublatzky, F., & Wolbers, T. (2016). Space, time, and numbers in the right posterior parietal cortex: Differences between response code associations and congruency effects. NeuroImage, 129: 72-79. [link]
Riemer, M., Hölzl, R., & Kleinböhl, D. (2014). Interrelations between the perception of time and space in large-scale environments. Experimental Brain Research, 232: 1317-1325. [link]