Out of time? - Music, consciousness states and neuropharmacological mechanisms of an altered temporality

Abstract

Drug-induced altered temporality is a well-known effect of cannabis action that is utilised from musicians and music listeners for music appreciation since the early days of jazz. Cannabis has an influence on timing processes at short time scales of hundreds of milliseconds as O’Leary et al (2003) have shown in their tapping studies, proving evidence of an altered cerebellar functioning. This paper will focus on cannabis and its action on timing and aims to discuss selected scientific streams of research on the neurophysiological and neuropharmacological base of timing mechanisms in terms of an social pharmacology of music (Fachner, 2009). The mechanisms behind this altered temporality remain unclear. Generally, task-related and activated neural networks (discussed are thalamo-cortico-striatal circuits, i.e. basal ganglia, supplementary motor cortex, prefrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex) are serving as a timekeeper and are detecting coincidences in synchronous brain activation and processing of different neural populations. “The scalar property derives from the assumption that the accumulation error is proportional to the criterion duration” (Buhusi, 2005, 756) and this may reflect the consciousness state of a subject and its cognitive and attentional behaviour during time processes in state-related accumulation processes. Clock speed (pacemaker) can be influenced by dopaminergic manipulations whereas memory processes (reference) can be influenced by cholinergic manipulations.