Bilateral theta-burst TMS to influence global gestalt perception

PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e47820. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0047820. Epub 2012 Oct 26.

Abstract

While early and higher visual areas along the ventral visual pathway in the inferotemporal cortex are critical for the recognition of individual objects, the neural representation of human perception of complex global visual scenes remains under debate. Stroke patients with a selective deficit in the perception of a complex global Gestalt with intact recognition of individual objects - a deficit termed simultanagnosia - greatly helped to study this question. Interestingly, simultanagnosia typically results from bilateral lesions of the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). The present study aimed to verify the relevance of this area for human global Gestalt perception. We applied continuous theta-burst TMS either unilaterally (left or right) or bilateral simultaneously over TPJ. Healthy subjects were presented with hierarchically organized visual stimuli that allowed parametrical degrading of the object at the global level. Identification of the global Gestalt was significantly modulated only for the bilateral TPJ stimulation condition. Our results strengthen the view that global Gestalt perception in the human brain involves TPJ and is co-dependent on both hemispheres.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Female
  • Gestalt Theory*
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Parietal Lobe / physiology*
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Reaction Time
  • Stroke / physiopathology*
  • Temporal Lobe / physiology*
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
  • Visual Pathways / physiology*
  • Visual Perception / physiology*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by a grant from the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF-Verbund 01GW0654 “Visuo-spatial cognition”). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.