The role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in implicit procedural learning (original) (raw)
Abstract
We studied the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in procedural learning. Normal subjects completed several blocks of a serial reaction time task using only one hand without or with concurrent non-invasive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. To disrupt their function transiently, stimulation was applied at low intensity over the supplementary motor area or over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex contralateral or ipsilateral to the hand used for the test. Stimulation to the contralateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex markedly impaired procedural implicit learning, as documented by the lack of significant change in response times during the task. Stimulation over the other areas did not interfere with learning. These results support the notion of a critical role of contralateral dorsolateral prefrontal structures in learning of motor sequences.
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Authors and Affiliations
- Human Motor Control Section, Medical Neurology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Alvaro Pascual-Leone, Eric M. Wassermann & Mark Hallett - Consejo Superior Investigaciones Cientificas, Unidad de Neurobiología, Departamento de Fisiología, Universidad de Valencia, Avda. Blasco Ibañez, 17, E-46010, Valencia, Spain
Alvaro Pascual-Leone - Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Medical Neurology Branch, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
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Pascual-Leone, A., Wassermann, E.M., Grafman, J. et al. The role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in implicit procedural learning.Exp Brain Res 107, 479–485 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00230427
- Received: 02 September 1994
- Accepted: 28 August 1995
- Issue Date: January 1996
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00230427