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Interhemispheric transfer of phosphenes generated by occipital versus parietal transcranial magnetic stimulation

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Abstract

Phosphenes represent a perceptual effect of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or electric stimulation of visual cortical areas. One likely neural basis for the generation of static phosphenes is the primary visual cortex (V1) although evidence is controversial. A peculiar feature of V1 is that it has sparse callosal connections with the exception of a central portion of visual field representation. In contrast, visually responsive cortical areas in the parietal lobe have widespread callosal connections. Thus, interhemispheric transfer (IT) time of off-centre phosphenes should be slower when generated by V1 than by visual parietal areas. To verify this possibility, in Exp. 1 we measured IT of phosphenes generated by TMS applied to V1 and in Exp. 2 we measured IT of phosphenes obtained by TMS applied to posterior parietal cortex. In both experiments, we obtained static bright circular phosphenes appearing in the contralateral hemifield. We measured IT time behaviorally by comparing unimanual simple reaction time to the onset of a phosphene under crossed or uncrossed hemifield-hand condition (Poffenberger paradigm). In keeping with our prediction, we found a substantially longer IT time for V1 than for parietal phosphenes. Additionally, an IT similar to that obtained with V1 stimulation was found when participants were asked to imagine the phosphenes previously experienced during TMS. In conclusion, the present results suggest that IT of phosphenes either generated by V1 TMS or imagined is subserved by slower callosal channels than those of real visual stimuli or parietal phosphenes.

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Acknowledgments

The study has been financed by the Italian MIUR. We thank Paola Cesari for the use of the TMS facility at the Faculty of Motor Science of the University of Verona.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurological and Vision Sciences, Section of Physiology, University of Verona, Strada le Grazie 8, 37134, Verona, Italy

    Carlo A. Marzi, Francesca Mancini & Silvia Savazzi

  2. National Institute of Neuroscience, Verona, Italy

    Carlo A. Marzi, Francesca Mancini & Silvia Savazzi

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  1. Carlo A. Marzi
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  2. Francesca Mancini
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  3. Silvia Savazzi
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Correspondence to Silvia Savazzi.

Addendum

Addendum

This article is dedicated to Giovanni Berlucchi who has taught the senior author how to do science honestly, creatively and enthusiastically. Giovanni, and his colleagues and friends Carlo Umiltà and Giacomo Rizzolatti have the historical merit of having revitalized the Poffenberger paradigm with their seminal 1971 paper, which is an example of great behavioral science, neat and clever. Since then the Poffenberger paradigm has been employed many times in both normal and brain damaged people always providing important information for understanding how the cerebral hemispheres interact. In fact, the present study has been carried out using stimuli that do not really exist in the external world but are in the mind of the beholder. We trust Giovanni will appreciate this bizarre use of the Poffenberger paradigm.

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Marzi, C.A., Mancini, F. & Savazzi, S. Interhemispheric transfer of phosphenes generated by occipital versus parietal transcranial magnetic stimulation. Exp Brain Res 192, 431–441 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-008-1496-4

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