Brain's Clock Has Millisecond Hand

It is well known that our brain’s has an internal clock that can sense time. This ability of our brain allows us to translate time dependent information, like Morse code. If we were unable to sense time, Morse code would simply sound like one long beep. Research is being done to uncover clues on how this mental clock works. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles are using an idea called state-dependency to try and figure out how our mental clock works. Using the example of Morse code, they believe when you hear the first beep, a set of neurons fire. This causes the brain to change states and be in a different state than before you heard the beep. Likewise, when another beep is heard the brain changes to another state. Keeping track of the differences between the states allows the brain to keep time. Many researchers now believe that the natural firing of neurons in the brain may give us the ability to sense time.

I found this article very interesting because it related what I heard learned about neuro-physiology and the concept of time.

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2007/201/3