Effects of Lowered Temperature on Time Estimation

Abstract

Body (ear) temperature of 14 subjects was lowered in order to examine its effect upon performance of a task requiring estimation of an interval of 60 s. Although there was some evidence that subjects counted more slowly at lower body temperatures, the inconsistency of the effect was such as to cast doubt on the hypothesis of a “biochemical clock” or “metabolic pacemaker” in the brain said to subserve human time estimation of brief intervals.