What Causes Our Elastic Sense of Time?

We’ve heard the phrase “time flies fast when you’re having fun.” But have you ever wondered why that is the case? Why does time seem to slow down at times, and why does it seem to speed up on others? What causes our elastic sense of time?

The answer might be found in dopamine.

… decades of research suggest that the neurotransmitter dopamine plays a critical role in how we perceive time. Dopamine has myriad effects on how much time we think has elapsed in a given period, and these effects may conflict confusingly. Some studies have found that increasing dopamine speeds up an animal’s internal clock, leading it to overestimate the passage of time; others have found that dopamine compresses events and makes them seem more fleeting; still others have uncovered both effects, depending on context.

Head over at Quanta Magazine to know more about this topic.

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