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Updated: Aug 16, 2026
Measuring and Manipulating Functionally Specific Neural Pathways in the Human Motor System with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Published on: February 23, 2020
The role of the human posterior parietal cortex in memory-guided saccade execution: a double-pulse transcranial
Thomas Nyffeler1, Andreas Egli, Tobias Pflugshaupt
1Perception and Eye Movement Laboratory, Department of Neurology, University Hospital, University of Berne, Freiburgstrasse 10, 3010 Berne, Switzerland.
Abstract:
The present study investigated the role of the right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) in the triggering of memory-guided saccades by means of double-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS). Shortly before saccade onset, dTMS with different interstimulus intervals (ISI; 35, 50, 65 or 80 ms) was applied. For contralateral saccades, dTMS significantly decreased saccadic latency with an ISI of 80 ms and increased saccadic gain with an ISI of 65 and 80 ms. Together with the findings of a previous study during frontal eye field (FEF) stimulation the present results demonstrate similarities and differences between both regions in the execution of memory-guided saccades. Firstly, dTMS facilitates saccade triggering in both regions, but the timing is different. Secondly, dTMS over the PPC provokes a hypermetria of contralateral memory-guided saccades that was not observed during FEF stimulation. The results are discussed within the context of recent neurophysiological findings in monkeys.
