Abstract: Traditionally, studies of the spatial metaphor of time were focused on the psychological reality of the sagittal (front/back) and vertical (up/down) representation of time by using the priming paradigm; in recent years, however, researchers have used the sequence method, the judgment method, the comparison method and the cueing paradigm to examine and confirm the use of the transverse (left/right) axis to represent time in the mind. Since the conventional theory failed to explain the left-and-right representation of time, researchers have tended to adopt the embodiment theory, which argues that the reading and writing habit is the reason for such representation. A deeper understanding of the relationship between the spatial axes and temporal representation relies on a unified research paradigm, an integrated theoretical framework and a new line of research into the neurological basis of the spatial metaphor of time.

Key words: spatial metaphor of time, temporal representation, spatial axes