Document type: scientific synthesis published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Authors: Singhal I, Birch J, Seth A
Preview: How can we investigate non-human experiences scientifically? Given substantial differences in sensory abilities and the private nature of consciousness, this remains an open question. In this review, we propose a way to gain empirical traction on one key feature of experience: its temporal structure, or ‘timescape’. Perceptual contents follow systematic temporal principles—synchronisation, revision, and persistence—and are sampled across attentional windows and vary in stability. These principles can be explored through temporal illusions and experimental paradigms. We conceptualise an animal’s timescape in terms of five key windows, all of which are experimentally testable, and analyse evidence across animal species to highlight varying timescapes. Together, these ideas lay the foundations for a research programme comparing the temporal Umwelts of non-human animals.
Publication leading to an article in Science on June 18, 2026: Do animals perceive time differently from humans?
