title: Role of Broca's area in motor sequence programming:  a cTBS study.
abstract: Besides language, the contribution of Broca's area to motor cognition is now widely accepted. In this study, we investigated the role of its posterior part (left Brodmann area 44) in learning of a motor sequence by altering its functioning with a continuous theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (cTBS) in 12 healthy participants before they learned the sequence by observation. Twelve control individuals underwent the same experiment with cTBS applied over the vertex. Although cTBS over Brodmann area 44 did not impair sequence learning, it significantly increased the response latency as measured during the retention test, performed 24 h later. This finding suggests that Broca's area might be critically involved in organizing, and/or storing, the individual components of a motor sequence before its execution.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Emeline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Clerget
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Badets
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duqué
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Olivier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005385:Fingers / Q000294:innervation; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012153:Retention, Psychology; D012691:Serial Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult