title: Temporary interference over the posterior parietal cortices disrupts thermoregulatory control in humans.
abstract: The suggestion has recently been made that certain higher-order cortical areas involved in supporting multisensory representations of the body, and of the space around it, might also play a role in controlling thermoregulatory functions. Here we demonstrate that temporary interference with the function of one of these areas, the posterior parietal cortex, by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, results in a decrease in limb temperature. By contrast, interference with the activity of a sensory-specific area (the primary somatosensory cortex) had no effect on temperature. The results of this experiment suggest that associative multisensory brain areas might exert a top-down modulation over basic physiological control. Such a function might be part of a larger neural circuit responsible for maintaining the integrity of the body at both a homeostatic and a psychological level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gallace
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Soravia
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Zaira
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
authors.affiliation: The Sansom Institute for Health Research, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia; Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: G Lorimer
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Moseley
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy; IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milano, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vallar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013696:Temperature; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult