Time-dependent hierarchical organization of spatial working memory: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study

Eur J Neurosci. 2002 Nov;16(9):1823-7. doi: 10.1046/j.1460-9568.2002.02252.x.

Abstract

The performance of memory-guided saccades with two different delays (3 and 30 s of memorization) was studied in seven healthy subjects. Double-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) with an interstimulus interval of 100 ms was applied over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) early (1 s after target presentation) and late (28 s after target presentation). Early stimulation significantly increased in both delays the percentage of error in amplitude (PEA) of contralateral memory-guided saccades compared to the control experiment without stimulation. dTMS applied late in the delay had no significant effect on PEA. Furthermore, we found a significantly smaller effect of early stimulation in the long-delay paradigm. These results suggest a time-dependent hierarchical organization of the spatial working memory with a functional dominance of DLPFC during the early memorization, independent from the memorization delay. For a long memorization delay, however, working memory seems to have an additional, DLPFC-independent component.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Electromagnetic Fields
  • Electrooculography
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Memory / physiology*
  • Prefrontal Cortex / physiology*
  • Reaction Time
  • Saccades / physiology*
  • Time Factors