How Chemicals In Our Brain Affect Time

This Clip was taken from the BBC's "Time" series that explores the fabric of time and how we perceive it. This section is placed between an experiment where a man was dropped out of the sky and asked to read a number that was flashing faster than the human eye can detect off a device on his arm. Imagine the human eyes 'frame rate' and the number being flashed far beyond that. As the man tried reading the number as he free-flew he was able to read at least one of the numbers every time. Proving that under high adrenaline situations time literally slows down for a human. In a lab, scientists experimented on mice using other drugs known for similar properties, namely cocaine and marijuana.

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• mind
• Marijuana
• Cocaine
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• Weed
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• hashish
• THC
• Cannabis
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[shannonm75]

Even without drugs our minds can perceive time to seem very long or speed up really fast.

[Antihero090482]

@shannonm75 No argument with you there. In the section before this one they attribute adrenalin as another good 'time stopper'. Generally speaking we as humans are wired to 'bend time' without any extra help. The substances were just convenient in a controlled study using mice, as is usually the case with lab experiments. With a Human all they had to do was send him Bungee Jumping! ;)

[Twigsism]

This actually really perfect as a source of research for my Independent Study about time and how it affects the mind - thanks! :)

[Antihero090482]

@Twigsism Great! Good luck with it! You can probably find the whole video online somewhere, I'm sure its all going to be useful for you. This was the bit that I think really put it all in perspective for me. Don't forget to reference the BBC! :) If you really want to dig deeper look up the professor, he is based at New Yorks City college.

[SuperMatt19]

I'm surprised the rat on marijuana even remembered to press the button!

[AyKay47]

I don't want to get too into it on that level really, but I feel that this is really not us slowing or skewing time, but rather us reaching stronger awareness. Awareness that engages our bodies to recruit into action our senses and strength to overcome a potentially fatal incident.

[AyKay47]

This just doesn't make sense that time actually slows down. Sure it seems to slow down, or are we just speeding up incredibly fast in response time, and reactions? Are our full strength, agility, reactions, and so fourth, being brought and time seems to slow simply because we are more accurate with our vision? So much so that time seems to slow down, because we've entered into a heightened awareness of sorts? I mean I could go on and on, special relativity, we could take it to the quantum even.

[zamurin13]

The THC Mouse wasn't slow to react.It just withdrew itself from the material world and all its materialistic things.

[genwave]

I take amphetamines for my ADD and I can honestly say that it slows down time around me. My reflexes faster and awareness is sharpened.

[whiteneptunexyz]

I completely believe that time perception is amenable to neurohormones, but I'm unconvinced by the study design. In particular, cocaine and other stimulants are known to increase reward-seeking behaviour... perhaps the mouse was just really eager?

[vhiechava]

lol, maybe i need some marijuana for slowing down time in this summer holiday hahaa.