Emotional Blunting and Time Estimation in Depression

Abstract

Background

Various cognitive and emotional factors shape our perception of time. Notably, individuals experiencing depressive symptoms often report changes in their time perception, characterized by a phenomenon termed depressive time dilation, or a subjective slowing of temporal flow. However, research on this topic has yielded conflicting and inconclusive findings, leaving the mechanisms behind altered time perception in depression largely unknown. In this study, we aim to explore the neural dynamics underlying the influence of emotional experiences on time perception in relation to depressive symptomatology.

Methods

A total of 120 university students participated in a retrospective time estimation task after watching either sad or neutral emotion-eliciting videos. Moreover, participants’ electroencephalographic (EEG) activity was recorded for the whole duration of the experiment by means of a high-density EEG cap. The severity of depressive symptoms was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9.

Results

Our findings revealed notable differences between individuals with depressive symptoms and healthy control individuals. Specifically, emotional modulation influenced time estimations exclusively in healthy control individuals. Moreover, individuals with depressive symptoms exhibited a significant relationship between beta band power and retrospective time estimations, specifically after watching the neutral video.

Conclusions

These results suggest that cognitive processes related to depression may disrupt the link between emotions and time perception. Overall, our study contributes to a deeper understanding of the interplay between emotional experience, cognitive processes, and time perception in individuals with depressive symptoms.