Neuroimaging of interval timing

Exactly how the brain is able to measure the durations of events lasting from seconds to minutes while maintaining time-scale invariance remains largely a mystery. Neuromiaging studies are only now beginning to unravel the nature of interval timing and reveal whether different timing mechanisms are required for the perception and production of sub- and supra-second intervals that can be defined by different stimulus modalities. We here review the impact that neuroimaging studies have had on the field of timing and time perception and outline the major challenges that remain to be addressed before a physiologically realistic theory of interval timing can be established involving cortico-striatal circuits. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.