Elite athletes refine their internal clocks

Abstract

Evaluating time properly is crucial for everyday activities from fundamental behaviors to refined coordinative movements such as in sport playing. Lately the concept of the existence of a unique internal clock for evaluating time in different scales has been challenged by recent neurophysiology studies. Here we provide the evidence that individuals evaluate time durations below and above a second based on two different internal clocks for sub- and supra-second time ranges: a faster clock for the sub-second range and a slower one for supra-second time. Interestingly the level of precision presented by these two clocks can be finely tuned through long-term sport training: elite athletes, independently from their sport domains, generate better time estimates than non-athletes by showing higher accuracy and lower variability, particularly for sub-second time. We interpret this better time estimates in the short durations due to their extraordinary perceptual and motor ability in fast actions.