title: Activation and inhibition of posterior parietal cortex have bi-directional effects on spatial errors following interruptions.
abstract: Interruptions to ongoing mental activities are omnipresent in our modern digital world, but the brain networks involved in interrupted performance are not known, nor have the activation of those networks been modulated. Errors following interruptions reflect failures in spatial memory, whose maintenance is supported by a brain network including the right posterior parietal cortex (PPC). The present study therefore used bi-directional transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) of right PPC to examine the neuromodulation of spatial errors following interruptions, as well as performance on another PPC-dependent task, mental rotation. Anodal stimulation significantly reduced the number of interruption-based errors and increased mental rotation accuracy whereas cathodal stimulation significantly increased errors and reduced mental rotation accuracy. The results provide evidence for a causal role of the PPC in the maintenance of spatial representations during interrupted task performance.
authors: Department of Psychology, Arch Lab, George Mason University Fairfax, VA, USA.
authors: Cyrus K
authors: CK
authors: Foroughi
authors: Department of Psychology, Arch Lab, George Mason University Fairfax, VA, USA.
authors: Eric J
authors: EJ
authors: Blumberg
authors: Department of Psychology, Arch Lab, George Mason University Fairfax, VA, USA.
authors: Raja
authors: R
authors: Parasuraman
keywords: brain stimulation; cognitive equalizing; interruptions; mental rotation; posterior parietal cortex; spatial errors; tDCS
references: Brain Cogn. 1995 Jun;28(1):39-58
references: 7546667
references: Brain. 2009 Nov;132(Pt 11):3011-20
references: 19528092
references: Hum Factors. 2014 Aug;56(5):816-24
references: 25141590
references: J Cogn Neurosci. 2003 Apr 1;15(3):315-23
references: 12729485
references: Science. 1971 Feb 19;171(3972):701-3
references: 5540314
references: J Exp Psychol Appl. 2013 Jun;19(2):95-107
references: 23795978
references: Arch Intern Med. 2010 Apr 26;170(8):683-90
references: 20421552
references: Neuroreport. 2009 Aug 5;20(12):1115-9
references: 19590395
references: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Sep 11;104(37):14837-42
references: 17804811
references: Neuroreport. 2001 Nov 16;12(16):3553-5
references: 11733710
references: Exp Brain Res. 2005 Sep;166(1):23-30
references: 15999258
references: Curr Biol. 2012 Feb 21;22(4):R108-11
references: 22361141
references: J Physiol. 2000 Sep 15;527 Pt 3:633-9
references: 10990547
references: Clin Neurophysiol. 2001 Apr;112(4):713-9
references: 11275545
references: J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2006 Oct;32(5):1208-20
references: 17002532
references: Neuroimage. 2014 Jan 15;85 Pt 3:895-908
references: 23933040
references: J Neurosci. 2012 Aug 1;32(31):10554-61
references: 22855805
references: Percept Mot Skills. 1978 Oct;47(2):599-604
references: 724398
references: Hum Factors. 2015 Sep;57(6):1051-62
references: 26342062
references: BMJ Qual Saf. 2014 Nov;23(11):884-92
references: 24906806
references: Curr Biol. 2010 Nov 23;20(22):2016-20
references: 21055945
references: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2002 Jul;3(7):553-62
references: 12094211
references: Front Hum Neurosci. 2014 Sep 08;8:665
references: 25249958
references: J Cogn Neurosci. 2000 Jan;12(1):1-47
references: 10769304
references: J Physiol. 2004 May 15;557(Pt 1):175-90
references: 14978199
references: Brain Stimul. 2009 Oct;2(4):201-7, 207.e1
references: 20648973