title: Enhancing duration processing with parietal brain stimulation.
abstract: Numerosity and duration are thought to share common magnitude-based mechanisms in brain regions including the right parietal and frontal cortices like the supplementary motor area, SMA. Numerosity and duration are, however, also different in several intrinsic features. For instance, in a quantification context, numerosity is known for being more automatically accessed than temporal events, and durations are by definition sequential whereas numerosity can be both sequential and simultaneous. Moreover, numerosity and duration processing diverge in terms of their neuronal correlates. Whether these observed neuronal specificities can be accounted for by differences in automaticity or presentation-mode is however not clear. To address this issue, we used brain stimulation (transcranial random noise stimulation, tRNS) to the right parietal cortex or the SMA combined with experimental stimuli differing in their level of automaticity (numerosity and duration) and presentation mode (sequential or simultaneous). Compared to a no stimulation group, performance changed in duration but not in numerosity categorisation following right parietal but not SMA stimulation. These results indicate that the right parietal cortex is critical for duration processing, and suggest that tRNS has a stronger effect on less automatic processes such as duration.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Sciences Psychologiques and Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK. Electronic address: valerie.dormal@uclouvain.be.
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Dormal
authors.affiliation: Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK; School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
authors.forename: Amir-Homayoun
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Javadi
authors.affiliation: Institut de Recherche en Sciences Psychologiques and Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pesenti
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK; Psychology Department, Goldsmiths College, University of London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Marinella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cappelletti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013850:Thinking; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Automaticity; Duration; Numerosity; Parietal cortex; Presentation mode; Supplemental Motor Area (SMA); transcranial Random Noise Stimulation (tRNS)