title: The role of the inferior frontal gyri in cognitive processing of patients with Parkinson's disease: a pilot rTMS study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We studied whether 1 session of high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) applied sequentially over both the left and right inferior frontal gyri (IFG) would enhance performance in tests evaluating the ability to inhibit habitual responses (Stroop test, ST; Frontal Assessment Battery, FAB) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten nondemented PD patients (6 men, 4 women; age, 66 ± 6 years; disease duration, 5.4 ± 2.45 years) entered the randomized, sham stimulation-controlled study with a crossover design. The ST and the FAB were performed prior to and immediately after an appropriate rTMS session.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The active but not sham rTMS induced significant improvement in all ST subtests (word, color, color-word). Conversely, the calculated Stroop interference and the FAB scores remained unchanged.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In PD patients, rTMS of the IFG increased the speed of cognitive processing in both the congruent and incongruent conditions of the ST.
authors.affiliation: Movement Disorders Center, First Department of Neurology, Masaryk University, St. Anne's University Hospital Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Hana
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Srovnalova
authors.forename: Radek
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marecek
authors.forename: Irena
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rektorova
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D003118:Color Perception; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008609:Mental Status Schedule; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications; D010865:Pilot Projects; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D014825:Vocabulary