title: Transcranial magnetic stimulation of left prefrontal cortex impairs working memory.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Several lines of evidence suggest that the prefrontal cortex is involved in working memory. Our goal was to determine whether transient functional disruption of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) would impair performance in a sequential-letter working memory task.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects were shown sequences of letters and asked to state whether the letter just displayed was the same as the one presented 3-back. Single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied over the DLPFC between letter presentations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TMS applied over the left DLPFC resulted in increased errors relative to no TMS controls. TMS over the right DLPFC did not alter working memory performance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that the left prefrontal cortex has a crucial role in at least one type of working memory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Section of Clinical Neurophysiology, University of California, Davis, 2315 Stockton Boulevard, Room 5308, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.
authors.forename: B R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Mull
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seyal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation