Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation may induce language switching in bilingual patients.
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) may participate in the process of language switching in multilingual individuals. We present two cases of bilingual patients who experienced unexpected language switching after receiving high-frequency, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the left DLPFC as a treatment for major depression. These preliminary findings support the role of the DLPFC in language switching in polyglots and highlight the potential value of rTMS for non-invasively investigating language function in humans. Further investigation is warranted.
Holtzheimer
Paul
P
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA. pholtzh@emory.edu
Fawaz
Walid
W
Wilson
Christopher
C
Avery
David
D
D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019303:Multilingualism; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation