The Experts below are selected from a list of 5847 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Michael J Banissy - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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hemispheric differences between left and right Supramarginal Gyrus for pitch and rhythm memory
Scientific Reports, 2017Co-Authors: Nora K Schaal, Bettina Pollok, Michael J BanissyAbstract:Functional brain imaging studies and non-invasive brain stimulation methods have shown the importance of the left Supramarginal Gyrus (SMG) for pitch memory. The extent to which this brain region plays a crucial role in memory for other auditory material remains unclear. Here, we sought to investigate the role of the left and right SMG in pitch and rhythm memory in non-musicians. Anodal or sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was applied over the left SMG (Experiment 1) and right SMG (Experiment 2) in two different sessions. In each session participants completed a pitch and rhythm recognition memory task immediately after tDCS. A significant facilitation of pitch memory was revealed when anodal stimulation was applied over the left SMG. No significant effects on pitch memory were found for anodal tDCS over the right SMG or sham condition. For rhythm memory the opposite pattern was found; anodal tDCS over the right SMG led to an improvement in performance, but anodal tDCS over the left SMG had no significant effect. These results highlight a different hemispheric involvement of the SMG in auditory memory processing depending on auditory material that is encoded.
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a causal involvement of the left Supramarginal Gyrus during the retention of musical pitches
International Conference of Students of Systematic Musicology, 2014Co-Authors: Nora K Schaal, Victoria J Williamson, Michael J BanissyAbstract:Brain stimulation studies using transcranial direct current stimulation have shown that the processes involved in memorising pitch rely on activity within the left Supramarginal Gyrus (SMG). Building on this, the present study investigated which of the main phases of pitch memory processing may depend on the left SMG: retention or encoding. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was used to modulate the retention stage of a pitch memory task in Experiment 1 and the encoding phase in Experiment 2. Participants completed a pitch memory recognition task in which they had to decide whether two six tone long sequences were the same or different. Using a blocked design 5Hz rTMS was applied for 3 seconds on a trial-by-trial basis over either the left SMG (targeted site) or the Vertex (control site) during the retention phase (Experiment 1) or during encoding of the first sequence (Experiment 2). A baseline block (without rTMS) was also completed. For Experiment 1, a repeated measures ANOVA with stimulation condition (rTMS over left SMG vs rTMS over Vertex vs no stimulation) as the within-subject factor and reaction times as the dependent variable revealed a main effect of stimulation condition. Contrasts showed that only rTMS over the left SMG during retention led to significantly increased reaction times. In Experiment 2 no modulation effects were found when applying rTMS during encoding. Taken together, these findings highlight a phase-specific involvement of the left SMG for the retention period of pitch memory only, thereby indicating that the left SMG is involved for the perpetual storage of pitch information.
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anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the Supramarginal Gyrus facilitates pitch memory
European Journal of Neuroscience, 2013Co-Authors: Nora K Schaal, Victoria J Williamson, Michael J BanissyAbstract:Functional neuroimaging studies have shown activation of the Supramarginal Gyrus during pitch memory tasks. A previous transcranial direct current stimulation study using cathodal stimulation over the left Supramarginal Gyrus reported a detrimental effect on short-term pitch memory performance, indicating an important role of the Supramarginal Gyrus in pitch memory. The current study aimed to determine whether pitch memory could be improved following anodal stimulation of the left Supramarginal Gyrus. The performances of non-musicians on two pitch memory tasks (pitch recognition and recall) and a visual memory control task following anodal or sham transcranial direct current stimulation were compared. The results show that, post-stimulation, the anodal group but not the control group performed significantly better on both pitch memory tasks; performance did not differ on the face memory task. These findings provide strong support for the causal involvement of the left Supramarginal Gyrus in the pitch memory process, and highlight the potential efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation as a tool to improve pitch memory.
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p 35 investigating a causal role of the Supramarginal Gyrus for pitch memory using transcranial direct current stimulation
Clinical Neurophysiology, 2013Co-Authors: Nora K Schaal, Victoria J Williamson, Michael J BanissyAbstract:Functional neuroimaging studies have shown an activation of the Supramarginal Gyrus during recognition pitch memory tasks and also showing a positive correlation of stronger activation of the left Supramarginal Gyrus and better task performance on the pitch memory task (Gaab et al., 2003, 2006). A previous transcranial direct current stimulation study using cathodal stimulation over the left Supramarginal Gyrus reported a detrimental effect on short-term pitch memory performance; indicating an important role of the left Supramarginal Gyrus for pitch memory (Vines et al., 2006). The current study investigated a causal involvement of the left Supramarginal Gyrus for the pitch memory process in non-musicians by using anodal and sham transcranial direct current stimulation to see whether this has a significant effect on the performance across different pitch memory paradigms (a recognition and a recall pitch memory task were used). A face memory task, used as a visual control task, was included to determine whether effects are specific to pitch memory. A between subject design was used. The two groups, which were matched by age, gender and pitch memory performance (evaluated in a preliminary test), either received anodal or sham stimulation over the left Supramarginal Gyrus and completed the three tasks in randomised order (between-subject design). The results show that the anodal group performed significantly better on both pitch memory tasks (see Figs. 1 and 2) but performance did not differ on the face memory task. These findings provide strong support for the causal involvement of the Supramarginal Gyrus specifically for the pitch memory process. Anodal stimulation facilitates pitch memory. Additionally, a post hoc analysis of the serial position curve of pitch items in the recall task showed that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation does not effect a particular point of the working-memory process (recency or primacy effects) but boosts pitch memory performance in general. Anodal stimulation over the Supramarginal Gyrus increased pitch memory performance significantly suggesting that the Supramarginal Gyrus could be responsible for the storage of pitch information in the memory process.
Nora K Schaal - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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hemispheric differences between left and right Supramarginal Gyrus for pitch and rhythm memory
Scientific Reports, 2017Co-Authors: Nora K Schaal, Bettina Pollok, Michael J BanissyAbstract:Functional brain imaging studies and non-invasive brain stimulation methods have shown the importance of the left Supramarginal Gyrus (SMG) for pitch memory. The extent to which this brain region plays a crucial role in memory for other auditory material remains unclear. Here, we sought to investigate the role of the left and right SMG in pitch and rhythm memory in non-musicians. Anodal or sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was applied over the left SMG (Experiment 1) and right SMG (Experiment 2) in two different sessions. In each session participants completed a pitch and rhythm recognition memory task immediately after tDCS. A significant facilitation of pitch memory was revealed when anodal stimulation was applied over the left SMG. No significant effects on pitch memory were found for anodal tDCS over the right SMG or sham condition. For rhythm memory the opposite pattern was found; anodal tDCS over the right SMG led to an improvement in performance, but anodal tDCS over the left SMG had no significant effect. These results highlight a different hemispheric involvement of the SMG in auditory memory processing depending on auditory material that is encoded.
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a causal involvement of the left Supramarginal Gyrus during the retention of musical pitches
Cortex, 2015Co-Authors: Nora K Schaal, Victoria J Williamson, Bettina Pollok, Maria Kelly, Neil G Muggleton, Vanessa KrauseAbstract:Brain stimulation studies have previously demonstrated a causal link between general pitch memory processes and activity within the left Supramarginal Gyrus (SMG). Building on this evidence, the present study tested the impact of left SMG stimulation on two distinct pitch memory phases, retention and encoding. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was employed during the retention stage (Experiment 1) and the encoding phase (Experiment 2) of a pitch recognition task. Stimulation was applied on a trial-by-trial basis over the left SMG (target site) or the vertex (control site). A block without TMS was also completed. In Experiment 1, rTMS over the left SMG during pitch retention led to significantly increased reaction times compared to control conditions. In Experiment 2 no rTMS modulation effects were found during encoding. Experiment 3 was conducted as a control for non-specific stimulation effects; no effects were found when rTMS was applied over the left SMG at the two different time points during a perceptual task. Taken together, these findings highlight a phase-specific involvement of the left SMG in the retention phase of pitch memory, thereby indicating that the left SMG is involved in the maintenance of pitch information.
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a causal involvement of the left Supramarginal Gyrus during the retention of musical pitches
International Conference of Students of Systematic Musicology, 2014Co-Authors: Nora K Schaal, Victoria J Williamson, Michael J BanissyAbstract:Brain stimulation studies using transcranial direct current stimulation have shown that the processes involved in memorising pitch rely on activity within the left Supramarginal Gyrus (SMG). Building on this, the present study investigated which of the main phases of pitch memory processing may depend on the left SMG: retention or encoding. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was used to modulate the retention stage of a pitch memory task in Experiment 1 and the encoding phase in Experiment 2. Participants completed a pitch memory recognition task in which they had to decide whether two six tone long sequences were the same or different. Using a blocked design 5Hz rTMS was applied for 3 seconds on a trial-by-trial basis over either the left SMG (targeted site) or the Vertex (control site) during the retention phase (Experiment 1) or during encoding of the first sequence (Experiment 2). A baseline block (without rTMS) was also completed. For Experiment 1, a repeated measures ANOVA with stimulation condition (rTMS over left SMG vs rTMS over Vertex vs no stimulation) as the within-subject factor and reaction times as the dependent variable revealed a main effect of stimulation condition. Contrasts showed that only rTMS over the left SMG during retention led to significantly increased reaction times. In Experiment 2 no modulation effects were found when applying rTMS during encoding. Taken together, these findings highlight a phase-specific involvement of the left SMG for the retention period of pitch memory only, thereby indicating that the left SMG is involved for the perpetual storage of pitch information.
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anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the Supramarginal Gyrus facilitates pitch memory
European Journal of Neuroscience, 2013Co-Authors: Nora K Schaal, Victoria J Williamson, Michael J BanissyAbstract:Functional neuroimaging studies have shown activation of the Supramarginal Gyrus during pitch memory tasks. A previous transcranial direct current stimulation study using cathodal stimulation over the left Supramarginal Gyrus reported a detrimental effect on short-term pitch memory performance, indicating an important role of the Supramarginal Gyrus in pitch memory. The current study aimed to determine whether pitch memory could be improved following anodal stimulation of the left Supramarginal Gyrus. The performances of non-musicians on two pitch memory tasks (pitch recognition and recall) and a visual memory control task following anodal or sham transcranial direct current stimulation were compared. The results show that, post-stimulation, the anodal group but not the control group performed significantly better on both pitch memory tasks; performance did not differ on the face memory task. These findings provide strong support for the causal involvement of the left Supramarginal Gyrus in the pitch memory process, and highlight the potential efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation as a tool to improve pitch memory.
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p 35 investigating a causal role of the Supramarginal Gyrus for pitch memory using transcranial direct current stimulation
Clinical Neurophysiology, 2013Co-Authors: Nora K Schaal, Victoria J Williamson, Michael J BanissyAbstract:Functional neuroimaging studies have shown an activation of the Supramarginal Gyrus during recognition pitch memory tasks and also showing a positive correlation of stronger activation of the left Supramarginal Gyrus and better task performance on the pitch memory task (Gaab et al., 2003, 2006). A previous transcranial direct current stimulation study using cathodal stimulation over the left Supramarginal Gyrus reported a detrimental effect on short-term pitch memory performance; indicating an important role of the left Supramarginal Gyrus for pitch memory (Vines et al., 2006). The current study investigated a causal involvement of the left Supramarginal Gyrus for the pitch memory process in non-musicians by using anodal and sham transcranial direct current stimulation to see whether this has a significant effect on the performance across different pitch memory paradigms (a recognition and a recall pitch memory task were used). A face memory task, used as a visual control task, was included to determine whether effects are specific to pitch memory. A between subject design was used. The two groups, which were matched by age, gender and pitch memory performance (evaluated in a preliminary test), either received anodal or sham stimulation over the left Supramarginal Gyrus and completed the three tasks in randomised order (between-subject design). The results show that the anodal group performed significantly better on both pitch memory tasks (see Figs. 1 and 2) but performance did not differ on the face memory task. These findings provide strong support for the causal involvement of the Supramarginal Gyrus specifically for the pitch memory process. Anodal stimulation facilitates pitch memory. Additionally, a post hoc analysis of the serial position curve of pitch items in the recall task showed that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation does not effect a particular point of the working-memory process (recency or primacy effects) but boosts pitch memory performance in general. Anodal stimulation over the Supramarginal Gyrus increased pitch memory performance significantly suggesting that the Supramarginal Gyrus could be responsible for the storage of pitch information in the memory process.
Gottfried Schlaug - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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testing for causality with transcranial direct current stimulation pitch memory and the left Supramarginal Gyrus
Neuroreport, 2006Co-Authors: Bradley W Vines, Nora M Schnider, Gottfried SchlaugAbstract:Neuroimaging studies have implicated the left Supramarginal Gyrus in short-term auditory memory processing, including memory for pitch. The present study investigated the causal role of the left Supramarginal Gyrus in short-term pitch memory by comparing the effects of cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation when applied over the left or right Supramarginal Gyrus with sham transcranial direct current stimulation. Only cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the left Supramarginal Gyrus had a detrimental effect on short-term pitch-memory performance in 11 adult participants. These results provide support for the important role of the left Supramarginal Gyrus in short-term memory for pitch information, and they further demonstrate the potential of transcranial direct current stimulation to modulate the functional contribution of a brain area to a particular cognitive process.
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The effect of musicianship on pitch memory in performance matched groups.
Neuroreport, 2003Co-Authors: Nadine Gaab, Gottfried SchlaugAbstract:We compared brain activation patterns between musicians and non-musicians (matched in performance score) while they performed a pitch memory task (using a sparse temporal sampling fMRI method). Both groups showed bilateral activation of the superior temporal, Supramarginal, posterior middle and inferior frontal Gyrus, and superior parietal lobe. Musicians showed more right temporal and Supramarginal Gyrus activation while non-musicians had more right primary and left secondary auditory cortex activation. Since both groups' performance were matched, these results probably indicate processing differences between groups that are possibly related to musical training. Non-musicians rely more on brain regions important for pitch discrimination while musicians prefer to use brain regions specialized in short-term memory and recall to perform well in this pitch memory task.
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Musicians Differ from Nonmusicians in Brain Activation despite Performance Matching
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2003Co-Authors: Nadine Gaab, Gottfried SchlaugAbstract:Abstract: Brain activation patterns in a group of musicians and a group of nonmusicians (matched in performance score to the musician group) were compared during a pitch memory task using a sparse-temporal sampling functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment. Both groups showed bilateral activaton (left more than right) of the superior temporal Gyrus, Supramarginal Gyrus, posterior middle and inferior frontal Gyrus, and superior parietal lobe. Musicians showed greater right posterior temporal and Supramarginal activation, whereas nonmusicians had greater activation of the left secondary auditory cortex.
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functional anatomy of pitch memory an fmri study with sparse temporal sampling
NeuroImage, 2003Co-Authors: Nadine Gaab, Tino Zaehle, Lutz Jancke, Christian Gaser, Gottfried SchlaugAbstract:Auditory functional magnetic resonance imaging tasks are challenging since the MR scanner noise can interfere with the auditory stimulation. To avoid this interference a sparse temporal sampling method with a long repetition time (TR 17 s) was used to explore the functional anatomy of pitch memory. Eighteen right-handed subjects listened to a sequence of sine-wave tones (4.6 s total duration) and were asked to make a decision (depending on a visual prompt) whether the last or second to last tone was the same or different as the first tone. An alternating button press condition served as a control. Sets of 24 axial slices were acquired with a variable delay time (between 0 and 6 s) between the end of the auditory stimulation and the MR acquisition. Individual imaging time points were combined into three clusters (0 –2, 3– 4, and 5– 6 s after the end of the auditory stimulation) for the analysis. The analysis showed a dynamic activation pattern over time which involved the superior temporal Gyrus, Supramarginal Gyrus, posterior dorsolateral frontal regions, superior parietal regions, and dorsolateral cerebellar regions bilaterally as well as the left inferior frontal Gyrus. By regressing the performance score in the pitch memory task with task-related MR signal changes, the Supramarginal Gyrus (leftright) and the dorsolateral cerebellum (lobules V and VI, leftright) were significantly correlated with good task performance. The SMG and the dorsolateral cerebellum may play a critical role in short-term storage of pitch information and the continuous pitch discrimination necessary for performing this pitch memory task. © 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
Victoria J Williamson - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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a causal involvement of the left Supramarginal Gyrus during the retention of musical pitches
Cortex, 2015Co-Authors: Nora K Schaal, Victoria J Williamson, Bettina Pollok, Maria Kelly, Neil G Muggleton, Vanessa KrauseAbstract:Brain stimulation studies have previously demonstrated a causal link between general pitch memory processes and activity within the left Supramarginal Gyrus (SMG). Building on this evidence, the present study tested the impact of left SMG stimulation on two distinct pitch memory phases, retention and encoding. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was employed during the retention stage (Experiment 1) and the encoding phase (Experiment 2) of a pitch recognition task. Stimulation was applied on a trial-by-trial basis over the left SMG (target site) or the vertex (control site). A block without TMS was also completed. In Experiment 1, rTMS over the left SMG during pitch retention led to significantly increased reaction times compared to control conditions. In Experiment 2 no rTMS modulation effects were found during encoding. Experiment 3 was conducted as a control for non-specific stimulation effects; no effects were found when rTMS was applied over the left SMG at the two different time points during a perceptual task. Taken together, these findings highlight a phase-specific involvement of the left SMG in the retention phase of pitch memory, thereby indicating that the left SMG is involved in the maintenance of pitch information.
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a causal involvement of the left Supramarginal Gyrus during the retention of musical pitches
International Conference of Students of Systematic Musicology, 2014Co-Authors: Nora K Schaal, Victoria J Williamson, Michael J BanissyAbstract:Brain stimulation studies using transcranial direct current stimulation have shown that the processes involved in memorising pitch rely on activity within the left Supramarginal Gyrus (SMG). Building on this, the present study investigated which of the main phases of pitch memory processing may depend on the left SMG: retention or encoding. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was used to modulate the retention stage of a pitch memory task in Experiment 1 and the encoding phase in Experiment 2. Participants completed a pitch memory recognition task in which they had to decide whether two six tone long sequences were the same or different. Using a blocked design 5Hz rTMS was applied for 3 seconds on a trial-by-trial basis over either the left SMG (targeted site) or the Vertex (control site) during the retention phase (Experiment 1) or during encoding of the first sequence (Experiment 2). A baseline block (without rTMS) was also completed. For Experiment 1, a repeated measures ANOVA with stimulation condition (rTMS over left SMG vs rTMS over Vertex vs no stimulation) as the within-subject factor and reaction times as the dependent variable revealed a main effect of stimulation condition. Contrasts showed that only rTMS over the left SMG during retention led to significantly increased reaction times. In Experiment 2 no modulation effects were found when applying rTMS during encoding. Taken together, these findings highlight a phase-specific involvement of the left SMG for the retention period of pitch memory only, thereby indicating that the left SMG is involved for the perpetual storage of pitch information.
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anodal transcranial direct current stimulation over the Supramarginal Gyrus facilitates pitch memory
European Journal of Neuroscience, 2013Co-Authors: Nora K Schaal, Victoria J Williamson, Michael J BanissyAbstract:Functional neuroimaging studies have shown activation of the Supramarginal Gyrus during pitch memory tasks. A previous transcranial direct current stimulation study using cathodal stimulation over the left Supramarginal Gyrus reported a detrimental effect on short-term pitch memory performance, indicating an important role of the Supramarginal Gyrus in pitch memory. The current study aimed to determine whether pitch memory could be improved following anodal stimulation of the left Supramarginal Gyrus. The performances of non-musicians on two pitch memory tasks (pitch recognition and recall) and a visual memory control task following anodal or sham transcranial direct current stimulation were compared. The results show that, post-stimulation, the anodal group but not the control group performed significantly better on both pitch memory tasks; performance did not differ on the face memory task. These findings provide strong support for the causal involvement of the left Supramarginal Gyrus in the pitch memory process, and highlight the potential efficacy of transcranial direct current stimulation as a tool to improve pitch memory.
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p 35 investigating a causal role of the Supramarginal Gyrus for pitch memory using transcranial direct current stimulation
Clinical Neurophysiology, 2013Co-Authors: Nora K Schaal, Victoria J Williamson, Michael J BanissyAbstract:Functional neuroimaging studies have shown an activation of the Supramarginal Gyrus during recognition pitch memory tasks and also showing a positive correlation of stronger activation of the left Supramarginal Gyrus and better task performance on the pitch memory task (Gaab et al., 2003, 2006). A previous transcranial direct current stimulation study using cathodal stimulation over the left Supramarginal Gyrus reported a detrimental effect on short-term pitch memory performance; indicating an important role of the left Supramarginal Gyrus for pitch memory (Vines et al., 2006). The current study investigated a causal involvement of the left Supramarginal Gyrus for the pitch memory process in non-musicians by using anodal and sham transcranial direct current stimulation to see whether this has a significant effect on the performance across different pitch memory paradigms (a recognition and a recall pitch memory task were used). A face memory task, used as a visual control task, was included to determine whether effects are specific to pitch memory. A between subject design was used. The two groups, which were matched by age, gender and pitch memory performance (evaluated in a preliminary test), either received anodal or sham stimulation over the left Supramarginal Gyrus and completed the three tasks in randomised order (between-subject design). The results show that the anodal group performed significantly better on both pitch memory tasks (see Figs. 1 and 2) but performance did not differ on the face memory task. These findings provide strong support for the causal involvement of the Supramarginal Gyrus specifically for the pitch memory process. Anodal stimulation facilitates pitch memory. Additionally, a post hoc analysis of the serial position curve of pitch items in the recall task showed that anodal transcranial direct current stimulation does not effect a particular point of the working-memory process (recency or primacy effects) but boosts pitch memory performance in general. Anodal stimulation over the Supramarginal Gyrus increased pitch memory performance significantly suggesting that the Supramarginal Gyrus could be responsible for the storage of pitch information in the memory process.
Gilles Vannuscorps - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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dataset for the left Supramarginal Gyrus contributes to finger positioning for object use a neuronavigated tms study
2017Co-Authors: Michael Andres, Barbara Pelgrims, Etienne Olivier, Gilles Vannuscorps, Wiley AdminAbstract:In everyday actions, we grasp dozens of different manipulable objects in ways that accommodate their functional use. Neuroimaging studies showed that grasping objects in a way that is appropriate for their use involves a left-lateralized network including the Supramarginal Gyrus (SMG), the anterior intraparietal area (AIP) and the ventral premotor cortex (PMv). However, because previous works premised their conclusions on tasks requiring action execution, it has remained difficult to discriminate between the areas involved in specifying the position of fingers onto the object from those implementing the motor program required to perform the action. To address this issue, we asked healthy participants to make judgements about pictures of manipulable objects while repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was applied over the left SMG, AIP, PMv or, as a control, the Vertex. The participants were asked to name the part of the image where the thumb or the index finger was expected to contact the object during its normal utilization or where a given attribute of the same object was located. The two tasks were strictly identical in terms of visual display, working memory demands, and response requirements. Results showed that rTMS over SMG slowed down judgements of finger positions but not judgements of object attributes. Both types of judgements remained unaffected when rTMS was applied over AIP or PMv. This finding demonstrates that, within the parieto-frontal network dedicated to object use, at least the left SMG is involved in specifying the appropriate position of the thumb and index onto the object.
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the left Supramarginal Gyrus contributes to finger positioning for object use a neuronavigated transcranial magnetic stimulation study
European Journal of Neuroscience, 2017Co-Authors: Michael Andres, Barbara Pelgrims, Etienne Olivier, Gilles VannuscorpsAbstract:In everyday actions, we grasp dozens of different manipulable objects in ways that accommodate their functional use. Neuroimaging studies showed that grasping objects in a way that is appropriate for their use involves a left-lateralized network including the Supramarginal Gyrus (SMG), the anterior intraparietal area (AIP) and the ventral premotor cortex (PMv). However, because previous works premised their conclusions on tasks requiring action execution, it has remained difficult to discriminate between the areas involved in specifying the position of fingers onto the object from those implementing the motor programme required to perform the action. To address this issue, we asked healthy participants to make judgements about pictures of manipulable objects, while repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was applied over the left SMG, AIP, PMv or, as a control, the vertex. The participants were asked to name the part of the image where the thumb or the index finger was expected to contact the object during its normal utilization or where a given attribute of the same object was located. The two tasks were strictly identical in terms of visual display, working memory demands and response requirements. Results showed that rTMS over SMG slowed down judgements of finger positions but not judgements of object attributes. Both types of judgements remained unaffected when rTMS was applied over AIP or PMv. This finding demonstrates that, within the parieto-frontal network dedicated to object use, at least the left SMG is involved in specifying the appropriate position of the thumb and index onto the object.
