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Event-related TMS over the right posterior parietal cortex induces ipsilateral visuo-spatial interference
G Pourtois1, Y Vandermeeren, E Olivier
1Donders Laboratory of Cognitive and Affective Neurosciences, Department of Psychology, University of Tilburg, PO Box 90153, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Neuroreport
|August 10, 2001
Summary
Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) reveals the right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is crucial for early visuo-spatial processing. TMS applied to the right PPC at 50 ms post-stimulus impaired performance on a landmark task.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Experimental Psychology
Background:
- The right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) is known to be involved in visuo-spatial processing.
- Visuo-spatial neglect in patients highlights the PPC's role, but its precise temporal contribution remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the time-course of the right PPC's involvement in visuo-spatial processing.
- To determine if single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can interfere with visuo-spatial tasks.
Main Methods:
- Participants performed a landmark task while receiving single-pulse TMS over the right PPC, left PPC, or right primary motor cortex.
- TMS was time-locked to stimulus presentation with stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) ranging from 50 to 200 ms.
Main Results:
- TMS over the right PPC significantly interfered with the visuo-spatial task, particularly at an early stage (50 ms post-stimulus).
- This interference manifested as a processing cost for ipsilateral targets, suggesting a specific role for the right PPC in early visuo-spatial processing.
Conclusions:
- The findings support the hypothesis of right hemispheric dominance in visuo-spatial processing.
- This study provides critical temporal information regarding the right PPC's contribution to visuo-spatial processing.