Insects and Marine Predators Have the Greatest Ability To Detect Time

According to a new study, the creatures that sense time the quickest are those that are tiny, can fly, or are marine predators.

Dr. Kevin Healy of the University of Galway will discuss these early findings at the British Ecological Society's annual conference in Edinburgh on Tuesday, December 20th.

Which animals perceive time the fastest?

(Photo : Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The study, the largest of its type to date, examined the pace at which over 100 animals sense changes in the environment - a process known as temporal perception, as per ScienceDaily.

The researchers discovered that animals who live fast-paced lives have visual systems that can detect changes at a faster rate.

Species such as blowflies and dragonflies could detect changes at the fastest rate, with vision capable of handling 300hz (the ability to sense changes 300 times per second), substantially quicker than humans, who can only see at 65hz.

The quickest eyes in vertebrates belonged to pied flycatchers, who could see at 146hz. Salmon measured 96hz while dogs measured 75hz. Crown-of-thorns starfish had the slowest eyes at 0.7hz.

One surprising discovery from the study is that many terrestrial predators have slower time perception than aquatic predators.

"We think this difference may be because predators in aquatic habitats can continually alter their position when lunging for prey, but predators in terrestrial situations, such as a jumping spider, are unable to make modifications once they've launched," said Dr. Kevin Healy.

Because it is energy-intensive and restricted by how rapidly neurons attached to retinal cells in the eye can recharge, not all animals exhibit fast temporal perception.

Animals that do not require quick eyesight utilize this energy for other purposes such as development or reproduction.

Variation in temporal perception exists within animals, including humans, with some research indicating that goalkeepers detect changes at a faster rate in football and that coffee can temporarily increase this by a tiny amount.

This study analyzed data from various studies that examined time perception using flickering light trials.

During each experiment, a light was flashed and the rate at which the optic nerve communicated information was recorded using special instruments called electroretinograms, which in turn determined how fast an animal could detect the rate of light flashing.

This is referred to as the crucial flicker fusion frequency.

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Do animals perceive time differently from us?

The impression of time is determined by how rapidly the brain processes incoming information.

Scientists have attempted to measure it by exposing animals to light pulses that begin slowly and gradually accelerate, as per Science Focus.

There comes a moment when the light flashes so fast that it appears to be on all the time. Brain electrodes placed precisely can disclose when this time happens.

Smaller animals with rapid metabolisms may perceive greater frequencies of flashing lights than larger, slower creatures, according to research.

Movements and events may appear to unfold more slowly, much to Neo evading gunshots in The Matrix.

It makes evolutionary sense for animals that need to respond rapidly, such as to dodge predators or catches fast-moving prey, to perceive time at smaller resolutions, but what's interesting is that certain species appear to crank up or tone down their experience of time to fit their requirements.

Some swordfish, for example, increase blood flow to the brain before going hunting, lowering their perception of time and increasing the number of frames they can process each second. It enables them to respond more swiftly.

Similarly, research on mice has demonstrated that activating dopamine-producing neurons in the brain can speed up time perception.

These discoveries have far-reaching consequences for persons suffering from dopamine-related diseases including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Because there is a decrease in dopamine, patients may be more impulsive because they experience time more slowly.

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