[The study of central nervous information processing with transcranial magnetic stimulation]

In cognitive neuroscience different methods are used to study central nervous information processing. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive, well tolerated technique to interfere with cortical neuronal activity with high temporal and fair spatial resolution. In the past 10 years the use of TMS expanded from its application as a diagnostic routine procedure in neurology to the study of various cognitive functions. In this paper the physical and technical aspects of TMS and studies on the effects of single pulse versus repetitive TMS in the motor cortex are reviewed. Then, research on visual perception and attention is presented and studies on higher cognitive functions, such as speech, memory, and emotions are discussed.