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'Time Cells' Discovered in Human Brains

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Re: 'Time Cells' Discovered in Human Brains

#101
post #46

When I was young, I received a serious blow to my head while playing soccer that broke my skull and caused all sorts of issues at the time. I've managed a full recovery, but in the days following the accident, I lost my intuition of time. It's difficult to explain: I knew, logically, that I had lunch before I had dinner - and I had memory of doing both - but I couldn't "feel" that lunch was before dinner. It's pretty…

I kind of know what you mean. In my case, it was due a psychedelic substance. I vividly remember being inside, walking out in the street and opening the door to go out, in that order. Made me feel very confused because I knew that logically it could not have gone that way, yet that was the chronology in my mind.

Trytpamines are such a great way to look at the brain! Disruption of time / space / body / mind. Robin Carhart-Harris has done some great work, MAPS, etc.

Re: 'Time Cells' Discovered in Human Brains

#102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a very similar experience of time, and have only now late life gotten some insight in to my past struggles with a ADHD diagnosis. Worth looking in to foooor sure.

I'd love to hear more. I've definitely lived with the downsides, but my experience with medicating for it as pre-teen was so negative that I have been extremely reticent to seek treatment since.

First off I’d say that medicating as an adult is an entirely different experience than as a child (I have children, but was not medicated as a child, so YMMV) mainly because you can almost immediately tell the difference and you have the language necessary to properly discuss pros/cons/adjustments with your doctor.

As well, we now know that like hormonal birth control there’s no one pill that’s right for everyone so it’s awesome to have people be open to the adjustment process.

From a life perspective, even without medication it’s been extremely helpful for me to see (for example) my lateness for what it mostly is: my brain is driven by the desire to be fully engaged. In the past I have been late not only because I forgot (which is easy(ish) to deal with by sticking to the calendar), but because in the “dead” time before a timed event I am driven to fill it with things I used to deem “worthwhile”, and would focus intently to turn up the engagement (obviously) thus lose track of time and suddenly find myself in a time crunch. Anything from “just a quick level” of a fast-paced fps, fast racing game, or sparkly new mobile game to picking up a sidelined woodworking project or (more often honestly) grabbing a work-task off the todo list.

And, I will say that it feels great to be fully engaged and “firing on all cylinders” (I’m really enjoying Space Pirate Trainer on quest this month), but in the past where I would say subconsciously to myself “This is what I’m made for!” and push other things aside, now I can recognize the drive to what’s unique or engaging as being just about those two things, and I can properly choose what my priorities are.

Re: 'Time Cells' Discovered in Human Brains

#103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a very similar experience of time, and have only now late life gotten some insight in to my past struggles with a ADHD diagnosis. Worth looking in to foooor sure.

I'd love to hear more. I've definitely lived with the downsides, but my experience with medicating for it as pre-teen was so negative that I have been extremely reticent to seek treatment since.

Also an interesting point: I’m also very cue-dependant. I’ve spent most of my life structuring my tasks and habits around cues. It is tricky as heck as I’m sure you know. This too can be an indication of ADHD as the ADHD brain is more likely to be really good with connections between things.

Re: 'Time Cells' Discovered in Human Brains

#104
In Sasha Shulgin’s book PIKAL, he describes mixing two drugs, I think it was MMA and cannabis, and experiencing perceived time dilation. He describes it as looking at the hands of a clock and experiencing much more time between the movement of the hands than one normally would. He said it was frightening, so he called his friend to come help. He was able to speak normally and hear people speak normally. While he was on the phone, he asked for a timer to be set while he went to go retrieve something. His experience of walking down the hall and back felt to him like twenty minutes. When he returned to the phone, he was told it had only been two minutes.

The effect wore off by the next day. He was never able to recreate the effect, but he kept a battery of experiments at the ready of it ever happened again. He expressed regret at not being able to carry them out.

He once said that the experience changed his perception of death. If time were to continue dilating, asymptotically approaching a halting of time, then one might never die in their own experience.

Re: 'Time Cells' Discovered in Human Brains

#105

I guess this is a different thing, but... When I was a kid I read a book that said if before you go to sleep you think "I will wake up at Xam" (whatever time you want) then you wake up at exactly that time. Which is pretty weird! We can't do that when we're awake. It actually works, and I've never needed an alarm clock. For a few ultra-important days I used one, like catching a plane, but I was always awake before it…

When I was a kid, we used to have a radio/tape/CD player with a digital clock on it. Whenever I looked at it, as in whenever my body thought it would be a good idea to check the time, it was always something like 11:11 or 16:16.

It is more likely that those are the instances you remember because they stand out as compared to other uninteresting instances. So you get the impression that the former happens more often.

Re: 'Time Cells' Discovered in Human Brains

#106
Ok, armchair theory here, let's for a moment assume Einstein's belief that time is the fourth dimension.

We use our senses to detect/experience dimensions, right? I mean, we use sight, hearing, touch to detect 3-D space, for example (not forgetting taste and smell too).

If time is the fourth dimension, maybe these cells are our evolutionary attempt to sense/detect and operate within that dimension.

Which explains how the experience of time travel could be possible in at least one way - if we can change/affect our sense/perception of time (um.. navigating time?), it can seem to us like time travel. I'm not saying we would be affecting the timeline itself in this case, I mean more like messing with the sense of time that causes us to "experience" time travel.

Ok sorry, that does too sound like too much armchair pseudoscience, but this article and some of the other comments just got me thinking.

Re: 'Time Cells' Discovered in Human Brains

#107
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you haven't before, consider looking into whether or not you might have ADHD.

I was diagnosed with ADD as a kid and took Ritalin for a little while, but hated it so I convinced my parents to let me stop. I haven't sought medication or treatment since then. I can manage it really well if I'm intentional about how I arrange and use my environment, and it usually seems like the bursts of intense focus and creativity compensate for the tendency to be distracted and chasing multiple concurrent thre…

Don't let society dictate how your brain should function.

You are fine and valid the way you are, and don't let anyone call you a disorder.

Re: 'Time Cells' Discovered in Human Brains

#108

I guess this is a different thing, but... When I was a kid I read a book that said if before you go to sleep you think "I will wake up at Xam" (whatever time you want) then you wake up at exactly that time. Which is pretty weird! We can't do that when we're awake. It actually works, and I've never needed an alarm clock. For a few ultra-important days I used one, like catching a plane, but I was always awake before it…

Is it possible you are subconsciously waking up and looking at the clock (or doing it consciously at the time but just not remembering it)? Sleep generally triggers some unique memory suppression mechanisms.

No, I've never slept with a clock in my room.

Re: 'Time Cells' Discovered in Human Brains

#109

I guess this is a different thing, but... When I was a kid I read a book that said if before you go to sleep you think "I will wake up at Xam" (whatever time you want) then you wake up at exactly that time. Which is pretty weird! We can't do that when we're awake. It actually works, and I've never needed an alarm clock. For a few ultra-important days I used one, like catching a plane, but I was always awake before it…

Was it "The Power of Your Subconscious Mind" that you read, by any chance? I remember reading that there and applying it as well and it did kind of work. I've read that as kid as well, so maybe that has to do with something. I regard that books as a pseudoscience from today's time, but who knows.

No, it was a book for kids about time and measurement or something..in the early 80s.

Re: 'Time Cells' Discovered in Human Brains

#110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was diagnosed with ADD as a kid and took Ritalin for a little while, but hated it so I convinced my parents to let me stop. I haven't sought medication or treatment since then. I can manage it really well if I'm intentional about how I arrange and use my environment, and it usually seems like the bursts of intense focus and creativity compensate for the tendency to be distracted and chasing multiple concurrent thre…

Don't let society dictate how your brain should function. You are fine and valid the way you are, and don't let anyone call you a disorder.

ADHD and Autism are "spectrum" disorders. Meaning that in a sense, we ALL have them to varying degrees, on a spectrum. (For example, we can all be distractable..)

The definition of a disorder is that it's interfering with your life. So, if it's not bothering you, ALL GOOD. :) You don't have a disorder.

I appreciate that you're well-intentioned. And of course if someone is happy exactly as they are, that's awesomesauce!

But to the degree someone expresses that they struggle with something, and they might benefit from learning more or exploring options, it's not wrong to gently and respectfully encourage them to explore learning/options.

It doesn't mean someone is "calling them" something.

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