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Selective suppression of the incorrect response implementation in choice behavior assessed by transcranial magnetic stimulation
Author(s) -
Tandonnet Christophe,
Garry Michael I.,
Summers Jeffery J.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01121.x
Subject(s) - transcranial magnetic stimulation , psychology , facilitation , interstimulus interval , context (archaeology) , choice reaction time , neuroscience , stimulation , motor cortex , evoked potential , pulse (music) , task (project management) , cognition , computer science , paleontology , telecommunications , management , detector , economics , biology
Selecting the adequate alternative in choice situations may involve an inhibition process. Here we assessed response implementation during the reaction time of a between‐hand choice task with single‐ or paired‐pulse (3 or 15 ms interstimulus intervals [ISIs]) transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex. The amplitude of the single‐pulse motor evoked potential (MEP) initially increased for both hands. At around 130 ms, the single‐pulse MEP kept increasing for the responding hand and decreased for the nonresponding hand. The paired‐pulse MEP revealed a similar pattern for both ISIs with no effect on short intracortical inhibition and intracortical facilitation measures. The results suggest that the incorrect response implementation was selectively suppressed before execution of the correct response, preventing errors in choice context. The results favor models assuming that decision making involves an inhibition process.