Event-related TMS over the right posterior parietal cortex induces ipsilateral visuo-spatial interference

Neuroreport. 2001 Aug 8;12(11):2369-74. doi: 10.1097/00001756-200108080-00017.

Abstract

The right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is implicated in visuo-spatial processing, as illustrated by patients with visuo-spatial neglect, but the precise time-course of its contribution is still an open question. In the present study we assessed whether single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can interfere with the performance of normal subjects in a standard visuo-spatial task. Participants had to perform a landmark task while TMS was applied over the right PPC, the homologue region in the left hemisphere or the right primary motor cortex. Stimulation was time-locked to the stimulus presentation with a stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) varying between 50 and 200 ms. Our results indicate that TMS interfered mainly with the visuo-spatial task when applied over the right PPC at an early stage (50 ms post-stimulus). The interference effect of single-pulse TMS in the present visuo-spatial processing is revealed by a processing cost for ipsilateral targets. These results are in agreement with neuropsychological and brain imaging studies showing a right hemispheric dominance in visuo-spatial processing but add crucial information about the time-course of visuo-spatial processing within the right PPC.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Algorithms
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Dominance, Cerebral / physiology*
  • Electric Stimulation
  • Evoked Potentials / physiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Magnetics*
  • Male
  • Parietal Lobe / physiology*
  • Space Perception / physiology*
  • Visual Pathways / physiology