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Bilateral parieto‐frontal network for verbal working memory: an interference approach using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS)
Author(s) -
Mottaghy Felix M.,
Döring Tobias,
MüllerGärtner HansWilhelm,
Töpper Rudolf,
Krause Bernd J.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
european journal of neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.346
H-Index - 206
eISSN - 1460-9568
pISSN - 0953-816X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1460-9568.2002.02209.x
Subject(s) - working memory , supramarginal gyrus , transcranial magnetic stimulation , psychology , neuroscience , middle frontal gyrus , posterior parietal cortex , supplementary motor area , interference theory , parietal lobe , audiology , cognitive psychology , stimulation , functional magnetic resonance imaging , cognition , medicine
Verbal working memory has been attributed to a left‐dominant neuronal network, including parietal, temporal and prefrontal cortical areas. The current study was designed to evaluate the contribution of these brain regions to verbal working memory processes and to assess possible hemispheric asymmetry. The effect of repetitive transcranial stimulation (rTMS) on performance in a verbal working memory task both during, and after an rTMS train (110% of individual motor threshold, 4 Hz) over nine different scalp locations was studied [bilateral middle frontal gyrus (MFG), bilateral supramarginal gyrus (SMG), bilateral inferior parietal cortex (IP) and three different midline control sites]. Significant performance deterioration was observed during rTMS over the left and right MFG and left and right IP. There was no consistent interference effect across subjects over the left or right SMG and the three different midline control sites. The interference effect with the given stimulation parameters did not last beyond the rTMS train itself. The data provide evidence for a symmetrical, bilateral parieto‐frontal verbal working memory network. The data are discussed with respect to the competing ideas of a parieto‐frontal central executive network vs . a network that processes the inherent semantic and object features of the visually presented verbal stimuli in parallel.