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Effects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Body Perception: No Evidence for Specificity of the Right Temporo-Parietal Junction

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Abstract

Previous data suggest that the right temporo-parietal junction (rTPJ) may have a specific role in abnormal body perception (ABP), including out-of-body experience. We tested this hypothesis with inhibitory (1 Hz) and excitatory (15 Hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the rTPJ and a control site (CS, 5 cm posterior to the rTPJ along the lateral sulcus direction in Brodmann area 19R) in 35 healthy adults. ABP frequency was higher with 1 Hz than with 15 Hz rTMS but unaffected by the rTMS site (rTPJ/CS). Response to an own-body transformation task were delayed with 1 Hz compared to 15 Hz rTMS but also unaffected by rTMS site. ABP from rTMS at both sites induced electroencephalographic power decrease in all frequencies at left anterior and central cortical sites. Our data suggest that inhibitory rTMS can lead to ABP. However, the rTPJ may not play a specific role in this process.

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Notes

  1. Fifteen participants who reported no cognitive, neurological, or psychological deficits and did not participate in the main study were included. All participants received eight euros per hour for their participation and provided written informed consent to the study, which was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Ethics Committee of the University Hospital, University of Tübingen. Fifteen Hz rTMS was applied over CP6 (according to the 10-20 EEG System) for 2 s with an inter-train interval of 10 s. Participants were instructed to press one of two buttons to indicate whether they experienced or not an ABP, which was defined as “any unusual body sensation except those on the scalp”. Responses were given with the right hand with the index or the middle finger. Assignment of the response type (presence or absence of ABP) to the finger (index or middle finger) was counterbalanced across participants.

  2. Despite applying rTMS trains for 40 min over CP6 and testing the locations 1–2 cm surrounding CP6, none of the participants reported an ABP.

  3. An analysis of relative spectral power (with power in the delta band as reference) has also been done. Since the results were similar to the results found with absolute power, we report only the absolute power data. We also performed absolute and relative power analyses on restricted EEG epochs including only the 3 s preceding the EEG markers of the participant’s response. Again, results were similar. Thus, we report only the results over the whole epochs, that is using a time-window of 8 s with 3 s before and 5 s after the markers.

  4. The main aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that stimulation of the rTPJ results in ABP. Due to the limited spatial resolution of the rTMS, we did not and could not test any hypothesis about the role of different rTPJ subregions in body perception.

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Acknowledgments

Preparation of this article was supported by the Bial Foundation (Portugal, Grant #54/08 to JD). The experiment was conducted in cooperation with the Max-Planck Institute of Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen (Germany) to use an MRI-based neuronavigation system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Jerome Daltrozzo, Boris Kotchoubey & Ahmed A. Karim

  2. Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, P.O. Box 5010, Atlanta, GA, 30302-5010, USA

    Jerome Daltrozzo

  3. International Max Planck Research School of Neural and Behavioral Sciences, Tübingen, Germany

    Fatma Gueler & Ahmed A. Karim

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  1. Jerome Daltrozzo
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  2. Boris Kotchoubey
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  3. Fatma Gueler
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  4. Ahmed A. Karim
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Correspondence to Jerome Daltrozzo.

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Daltrozzo, J., Kotchoubey, B., Gueler, F. et al. Effects of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation on Body Perception: No Evidence for Specificity of the Right Temporo-Parietal Junction. Brain Topogr 29, 704–715 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-016-0496-0

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