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Right parietal cortex mediates recognition memory for melodies
Author(s) -
Schaal Nora K.,
Javadi AmirHomayoun,
Halpern Andrea R.,
Pollok Bettina,
Banissy Michael J.
Publication year - 2015
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 - 10.1111/ejn.12943
Subject(s) - melody , psychology , lateralization of brain function , transcranial direct current stimulation , recall , neuroscience , posterior parietal cortex , cognitive psychology , task (project management) , audiology , stimulation , medicine , musical , art , management , economics , visual arts
Abstract Functional brain imaging studies have highlighted the significance of right‐lateralized temporal, frontal and parietal brain areas for memory for melodies. The present study investigated the involvement of bilateral posterior parietal cortices ( PPC s) for the recognition memory of melodies using transcranial direct current stimulation ( tDCS ). Participants performed a recognition task before and after tDCS . The task included an encoding phase (12 melodies), a retention period, as well as a recognition phase (24 melodies). Experiment 1 revealed that anodal tDCS over the right PPC led to a deterioration of overall memory performance compared with sham. Experiment 2 confirmed the results of Experiment 1 and further showed that anodal tDCS over the left PPC did not show a modulatory effect on memory task performance, indicating a right lateralization for musical memory. Furthermore, both experiments revealed that the decline in memory for melodies can be traced back to an interference of anodal stimulation on the recollection process (remember judgements) rather than to familiarity judgements. Taken together, this study revealed a causal involvement of the right PPC for memory for melodies and demonstrated a key role for this brain region in the recollection process of the memory task.