Contralateral neglect induced by right posterior parietal rTMS in healthy subjects

Neuroreport. 2000 May 15;11(7):1519-21.

Abstract

We applied repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in order to induce interference on visuo-spatial perception in 11 healthy subjects. Subjects performed a visuo-spatial task requiring judgements about the symmetry of prebisected lines. Visual stimuli consisted of symmetrically or asymmetrically transected lines, tachystoscopically presented for 50 ms on a computer-monitor. Performance was examined in basal condition and during rTMS trains of 10 stimuli at 25 Hz, delivered through a focal coil over right or left posterior parietal cortex (P5 and P6 sites) and triggered synchronously with visual stimulus. Randomly intermixed sham rTMS trains were employed to control for non-specific effects. Right parietal rTMS induced a significant rightward bias in symmetry judgements as compared with basal and sham rTMS conditions. No differences emerged between other conditions.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Agnosia / physiopathology*
  • Electric Stimulation
  • Functional Laterality / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Magnetics*
  • Middle Aged
  • Parietal Lobe / physiology*
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Psychomotor Performance / physiology
  • Space Perception / physiology*