title: Effects of inhibitory theta burst TMS to different brain sites involved in visuospatial attention - a combined neuronavigated cTBS and behavioural study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study sought to alter visual spatial attention in young healthy subjects by a neuronavigated inhibitory rTMS protocol (cTBS-600) to right brain areas thought to be involved in visual attentional processes, i.e. the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) and the posterior middle frontal gyrus (pMFG), and to test the reversibility of effects by an additional consecutive cTBS to the homologue left brain cortical areas.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Healthy subjects showed a leftward bias of the egocentric perspective for both visual-perceptive and visual-exploratory tasks specifically for items presented in the left hemifield. cTBS to the right TPJ, and less systematically to the right pMFG reduced this bias for visuo-spatial and exploratory visuo-motor behaviour. Further, a consecutive cTBS to the left TPJ changed the bias again towards the left for a visual-perceptive task.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The evidence supports the notion of an involvement of the right TPJ (and pMFG) in spatial visual attention. The observations further indicate that inhibitory non-invasive brain stimulation (cTBS) to the left TPJ has a potential for reversing a rightward bias of spatial attention when the right TPJ is dysfunctional. Accordingly, the findings could have implications for therapeutic rTMS development for right brain damaged patients with visual neglect.
authors.affiliation: BDH-Klinik Greifswald, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Platz
authors.affiliation: BDH-Klinik Greifswald, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schüttauf
authors.affiliation: BDH-Klinik Greifswald, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aschenbach
authors.affiliation: BDH-Klinik Greifswald, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mengdehl
authors.affiliation: Functional Imaging Unit, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lotze
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004576:Electromyography; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013028:Space Perception; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: MFG; Neglect; TPJ; allocentric; cortex; egocentric; exploration; middle frontal gyrus; spatial attention; temporoparietal junction; transcranial magnetic stimulation