Unstuck in Time: Movement Imagery and the Elusive Link Between Depression and Time Perception

Depression has long been associated with disturbances in the experience of time. Cognitive models of temporal perception account for this phenomenon by suggesting depression-induced anxiety increases arousal, which speeds up a central pacemaker and causes temporal dilation. Experimental studies, however, have thus far found no correlation between symptoms of depression and estimates of temporal distortion. Arguing against the usefulness of absolute measures of timing and drawing from recent findings indicating that actual and imaginary movement can alter time perception, we explored whether movement imagery could play a role in shaping the relationship between depression and time perception. An exploratory experiment (N = 87) was conducted in which imaginary accelerating or decelerating movements were carried out while performing a verbal estimation task. Findings replicated previous results showing imaginary acceleration increased duration estimates while imaginary deceleration reduced these. More interestingly, sub-clinical symptoms of depression, as measured using the BDI, predicted the degree to which movement affected time perception. To confirm the findings, a replication experiment was conducted in a large, cross-cultural sample (N = 289). Although the main effect of movement imagery on timing remained in line with previous studies, no correlation with BDI was observed. Bayesian analysis argued in favor of the null-hypothesis, indicating no reliable association between depressive symptoms and the effect of movement imagery on time perception. We discuss remaining avenues to explore on the relations between depression, movement, and time perception, and underline the need to close the gap between clinical reports and experimental data regarding temporal biases in mood disorders.