title: Tuning Eye-Gaze Perception by Transitory STS Inhibition.
abstract: Processing eye-gaze information is a key step to human social interaction. Neuroimaging studies have shown that superior temporal sulcus (STS) is highly implicated in eye-gaze perception. In autism, a lack of preference for the eyes, as well as anatomo-functional abnormalities within the STS, has been described. To date, there are no experimental data in humans showing whether it is possible to interfere with eye-gaze processing by modulating STS neural activity. Here, we measured eye-gaze perception before and after inhibitory transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) applied over the posterior STS (pSTS) in young healthy volunteers. Eye-gaze processing, namely overt orienting toward the eyes, was measured using eye tracking during passive visualization of social movies. Inhibition of the right pSTS led participants to look less to the eyes of characters during visualization of social movies. Such effect was specific for the eyes and was not observed after inhibition of the left pSTS nor after placebo TMS. These results indicate for the first time that interfering with the right pSTS neural activity transitorily disrupts the behavior of orienting toward the eyes and thus indirectly gaze perception, a fundamental process for human social cognition. These results could open up new perspectives in therapeutic interventions in autism.
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1000, Department of Pediatric Radiology, Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, AP-HP, University René Descartes, PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR 1163, Institut Imagine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saitovitch
authors.affiliation: Inserm U1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, Centre de Neuro-imagerie de Recherche, CENIR, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Traian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Popa
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1000, Department of Pediatric Radiology, Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, AP-HP, University René Descartes, PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR 1163, Institut Imagine, Paris, France Faculté de Médecine, Université Paris-Sud, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lemaitre
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1000, Department of Pediatric Radiology, Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, AP-HP, University René Descartes, PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR 1163, Institut Imagine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Elza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rechtman
authors.affiliation: Inserm U1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, Centre de Neuro-imagerie de Recherche, CENIR, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Charles
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lamy
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1000, Department of Pediatric Radiology, Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, AP-HP, University René Descartes, PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR 1163, Institut Imagine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grévent
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1000, Department of Pediatric Radiology, Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, AP-HP, University René Descartes, PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR 1163, Institut Imagine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Calmon
authors.affiliation: Inserm U1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ. Paris 06, UMR S 1127, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, ICM, Centre de Neuro-imagerie de Recherche, CENIR, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meunier
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1000, Department of Pediatric Radiology, Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, AP-HP, University René Descartes, PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR 1163, Institut Imagine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brunelle
authors.affiliation: Stroke Center, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, AP-HP, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Samson
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1000, Department of Pediatric Radiology, Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, AP-HP, University René Descartes, PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR 1163, Institut Imagine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Boddaert
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1000, Department of Pediatric Radiology, Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, AP-HP, University René Descartes, PRES Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR 1163, Institut Imagine, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zilbovicius
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D053483:Eye Movement Measurements; D005260:Female; D005403:Fixation, Ocular; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009433:Neural Inhibition; D012938:Social Perception; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: STS; TMS; eye-gaze perception; social cognition