The term protracted duration is a loose translation of the German expression Zeitlupenphänomen, which literally means 'time deceleration phenomenon'. The term Zeitlupenphänomen was introduced in or shortly before 1934 by the Austrian neurologists Otto Pötzl (1877-1962) and Hans Hoff (1897-1969). It is used to denote a significant decrease in the speed of psychological time, or the experience that time is passing more slowly than measured time would seem to suggest. Protracted duration is classified as a variant of *tachypsychia, which is itself classified as a type of dyschronation or * time distortion. Protracted duration is known to occur in situations characterized by extremely high or extremely low levels of overt activity. It has been described in association with extreme circumstances and events such as physical exhaustion, stress, and trauma, in the context of * aurae preceding paroxysmal neurological disorders such as migraine and epilepsy, and following the use of psychotomimetic substances such as LSD, cannabis, and mescaline. However, protracted duration is also known to occur under physiological circumstances, especially during the execution of dull or monotonous activities. It has been suggested that the occurrence of protracted duration may be governed by neurotransmitters such as dopamine and the catecholamines. The term is used in opposition to the term * quick-motion phenomenon, which refers to the subjective experience that time is passing quickly. It is also used in opposition to the terms * temporal compression (i.e. a mnestic phenomenon associated with one's experience of the past in which temporal intervals seem to have passed quickly) and synchronicity (i.e. the normal experience oflived duration). See also the entry Slow-motion hallucination.
References
Flaherty, M.G. (1999). A watched pot: How we experience time.New York,NY: NewYork University Press.
Hoff, H., Pötzl, O. (1934). Über eine Zeitrafferwirkung bei homonymer linksseitiger Hemi-anopsie. Zeitschrift für die gesamte Neurologie und Psychiatrie, 151, 599-641.
Koch, C. (2004). The quest for consciousness. A neurobiological approach Englewood, CO: Roberts and Company Publishers.
Dictionary of Hallucinations. J.D. Blom. 2010.