The Influence of Low-frequency Left Prefrontal Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Memory for Words but Not for Faces
L. ŠKRDLANTOVÁ1,3, J. HORÁČEK1,2,3, C. DOCKERY1, J. LUKAVSKÝ4, M. KOPEČEK1,2,3, M. PREISS1,3, T. NOVÁK1,3, C. HÖSCHL1,2,3
1Prague Psychiatric Centre, 2Third Medical Faculty of Charles University, 3Centre of Neuropsychiatric Studies, 4Institute of Psychology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic
Received July 12, 2004
Accepted October 6, 2004
Summary
Brain imaging studies suggest localization of verbal working memory in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) while face processing and memory is localized in the inferior temporal cortex and other brain areas. The goal of this study was to assess the effect of left DLPFC low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on verbal recall and face recognition. The study revealed a significant decrease of free recall in word encoding under rTMS (110 % of motor threshold, 0.9 Hz) in comparison with sham stimulation (p=0.03), while no significant difference was found with facial memory tests. Our findings support the essential role of the left DLPFC in word but not facial memory and confirm the content specific arrangement of cortical areas involved in semantic memory. As a non-invasive tool, rTMS is useful for cognitive brain mapping and the functional localization of the category specific memory system.
Key words
Face memory • Verbal memory • Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation • rTMS
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