title: Whole-brain haemodynamic after-effects of 1-Hz magnetic stimulation of the posterior superior temporal cortex during action observation.
abstract: The posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) is active when observing biological motion. We investigated the functional connections of the pSTS node within the action observation network by measuring the after-effect of focal repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) with whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants received 1-Hz rTMS over the pSTS region for 10 min and underwent fMRI immediately after. While scanned, they were shown short video clips of a hand grasping an object (grasp clips) or moving next to it (control clips). rTMS-fMRI was repeated for four consecutive blocks. In two blocks we stimulated the left pSTS region and in the other two the right pSTS region. For each side TMS was applied with an effective intensity (95 % of motor threshold) or with ineffective intensity (50 % of motor threshold). Brain regions showing interactive effects of (clip type) × (TMS intensity) were identified in the lateral temporo-occipital cortex, in the anterior intraparietal region and in the ventral premotor cortex. Remote effects of rTMS were mostly limited to the stimulated hemisphere and consisted in an increase of blood oxygen level-dependent responses to grasp clips compared to control clips. We show that the pSTS occupies a pivotal relay position during observation of goal-directed actions.
authors: Center for Mind-Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Via delle Regole, 101, 38123, Mattarello, TN, Italy.
authors: Carola
authors: C
authors: Arfeller
authors: Jens
authors: J
authors: Schwarzbach
authors: Silvia
authors: S
authors: Ubaldi
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Ferrari
authors: Guido
authors: G
authors: Barchiesi
authors: Luigi
authors: L
authors: Cattaneo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology; D038361:Neuronavigation; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen