Alice Cancer, Stefania Balzarotti, Alessandro Antonietti, Adriano Daloia, Ruggero Eugeni, “As time goes by: SMA neuromodulation and time perception while watching moving images with different editing styles. A tDCS study”, Papers submitted under invitation to Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. Received on 18 March 2025. Under revision
In the context of the neurofilmological approach – which integrates film studies, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience – the present study explored how cinematographic editing influences the viewer’s perception of time. Previous behavioural research has shown that editing density affects temporal judgments. To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying this relationship, we examined the role of the motor system activity, specifically the supplementary motor area (SMA), in time perception when exposed to moving images with different cinematographic editing styles. Forty-eight university students were assigned to one of three tDCS conditions (anodal, cathodal, or sham). They viewed nine video clips with different editing styles (master shot, slow-paced, fast-paced) originally created for research. Participants rated perceived duration, time passage, action speed, and emotional engagement, while tDCS was applied for 20 minutes targeting the SMA. Results revealed that SMA excitability modulation affected duration estimates, time passage, and action speed judgments by interacting with the editing style of the clips. These findings highlight the importance of SMA in modulating time perception during film viewing. Furthermore, they provide valuable insights into the neural mechanisms that shape the viewer’s perception of film time as an integral part of experiencing movement in cinema.