title: A causal involvement of the left supramarginal gyrus during the retention of musical pitches.
abstract: Brain stimulation studies have previously demonstrated a causal link between general pitch memory processes and activity within the left supramarginal gyrus (SMG). Building on this evidence, the present study tested the impact of left SMG stimulation on two distinct pitch memory phases, retention and encoding. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was employed during the retention stage (Experiment 1) and the encoding phase (Experiment 2) of a pitch recognition task. Stimulation was applied on a trial-by-trial basis over the left SMG (target site) or the vertex (control site). A block without TMS was also completed. In Experiment 1, rTMS over the left SMG during pitch retention led to significantly increased reaction times compared to control conditions. In Experiment 2 no rTMS modulation effects were found during encoding. Experiment 3 was conducted as a control for non-specific stimulation effects; no effects were found when rTMS was applied over the left SMG at the two different time points during a perceptual task. Taken together, these findings highlight a phase-specific involvement of the left SMG in the retention phase of pitch memory, thereby indicating that the left SMG is involved in the maintenance of pitch information.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany; Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, SE14 6NW, London, UK. Electronic address: nora.schaal@uni-duesseldorf.de.
authors.forename: Nora K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Schaal
authors.affiliation: Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, 6003 Lucerne, Switzerland; Department of Music, University of Sheffield, S3 7RA, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Victoria J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Williamson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, SE14 6NW, London, UK.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, SE14 6NW, London, UK; Brain and Behavior Laboratory, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, National Central University, Jhongli 320, Taiwan; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Neil G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Muggleton
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pollok
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, SE14 6NW, London, UK; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Banissy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009146:Music; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D010898:Pitch Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Left supramarginal gyrus; Pitch memory; Retention; Transcranial magnetic stimulation