Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode How we experience time.
Cognitive neuroscientist Irena Arslanova says our brain perceives time but our body shapes how we experience it. She shares how our heartbeat influences whether we experience time moving fast or slow.
About Irena Arslanova
Irena Arslanova is a researcher in cognitive neuroscience at Royal Holloway, University of London. She wants to understand the experience of time. She is currently investigating how internal bodily signals, like the beating of the heart, can distort time.
Arslanova earned a PhD in cognitive neuroscience at University College London, where her research on touch and internal bodily signals evolved into her current work connecting the internal body to the perception of time.
This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Katie Monteleone and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour. You can follow us on Facebook and email us at TEDRadioHour@npr.org.
Web Resource
Related TED Bio: Irena Arslanova
Related TED Topic: All about the heart
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