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Abstract Temporal information processing (TIP) constitutes a complex construct that underlies many cognitive functions and operates in a few hierarchically ordered time domains. This study aimed to verify the relationship between the tens of milliseconds and hundreds of milliseconds domains, referring to perceptual and motor timing, respectively. Sixty four young healthy individuals participated in this study. They underwent two auditory temporal order judgement tasks to assess their performance in the tens of milliseconds domain; on this basis, groups of high-level performers (HLP) and low-level performers (LLP) were identified. Then, a maximum tapping task was used to evaluate performance in the hundreds of milliseconds domain. The most remarkable result was that HLP achieved a faster tapping rate and synchronised quicker with their “internal clock” during the tapping task than did LLP. This result shows that there is a relationship between accuracy in judging temporally asynchronous stimuli and ability to achieve and maintain the pace of a movement adequate to one’s internal pacemaker. This could indicate the strong contribution of a common timing mechanism, responsible for temporal organisation and coordination of behaviours across different millisecond domains.

Abstract People with aphasia (PWA) often present deficits in non-linguistic cognitive functions, such as executive functions, working memory, and temporal information processing (TIP), which intensify the associated speech difficulties and hinder the rehabilitation process. Therefore, training targeting non-linguistic cognitive function deficiencies may be useful in the treatment of aphasia. The present study compared the effects of the novel Dr. Neuronowski® training method (experimental training), which particularly emphasizes TIP, with the linguistic training commonly applied in clinical practice (control training). Thirty four PWA underwent linguistic and non-linguistic assessments before and after the training as well as a follow-up assessment. Patients were randomly assigned to either experimental (n = 18) or control groups (n = 16). The experimental training improved both non-linguistic functions (TIP and verbal short-term and working memory) and linguistic functions: phoneme discrimination, sentence comprehension, grammar comprehension, verbal fluency, and naming. In contrast, the control training improved only grammar comprehension and naming. The follow-up assessment confirmed the stability of the effects of both trainings over time. Thus, in PWA, Dr. Neuronowski® training appears to have broader benefits for linguistic and non-linguistic functions than does linguistic training. This provides evidence that Dr. Neuronowski® may be considered a novel tool with potential clinical applications.

Abstract Planning is a fundamental mental ability related to executive functions. It allows to select, order and execute subgoals to achieve a goal. Studies have indicated that these processes are characterised by a specific temporal dynamics reflected in temporal information processing (TIP) in some tens of millisecond domain. Both planning and TIP decline with age but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The novel value of the present study was to examine these mechanisms in young (n = 110) and elderly (n = 91) participants in Tower of London task, considering two structural properties of problems: search depth related to static maintenance in working memory, and goal ambiguity reflecting dynamic cognitive flexibility. Results revealed that TIP predicted planning accuracy both directly and indirectly (via preplanning) but only in young participants in problems characterised by high goal ambiguity. Better planning is related to longer preplanning and more efficient TIP. This result demonstrates for the first time age-related differences in the contribution of TIP to planning. In young participants TIP contributed to dynamic cognitive flexibility, but not to static maintenance processes. In elderly such relation was not observed probably because the deficient planning might depend on working memory maintenance rather than on cognitive flexibility.