The role of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in visual change awareness

Massimo Turatto, Marco Sandrini, Carlo Miniussi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Recently, the neural correlates of change detection vs change blindness have been investigated using fMRI. Results revealed that conscious perception of change is associated with enhanced activity in a neural network comprising the parietal (bilateral) and right dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPF) cortex. Here, by means of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), we unveil the causal role of the right DLPF cortex in perceiving changes. When rTMS was applied to this area, change perception was impaired as compared to left DLPF rTMS and sham stimulation. This result is important as it shows, for the first time, that conscious change perception is associated with normal activity in the right DLPF cortex. Our findings are in agreement with a recent view emphasizing the role of frontal areas, in addition to classical ventral and dorsal pathways, in visual awareness.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2549-52
Number of pages4
JournalNEUROREPORT
Volume15
Issue number16
Publication statusPublished - 15 Nov 2004

Keywords

  • Adult
  • Awareness
  • Brain Mapping
  • Electric Stimulation
  • Female
  • Functional Laterality
  • Humans
  • Magnetics
  • Male
  • Prefrontal Cortex
  • Reaction Time
  • Visual Perception

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