Facilitating visuospatial attention for the contralateral hemifield by repetitive TMS on the posterior parietal cortex

Previous studies have demonstrated that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) could modulate the visuospatial functions. In this study, we investigated the effect of off-line high frequency subthreshold rTMS, when applied over the right or left posterior parietal cortex (PPC), on the visuospatial attention of the bilateral hemispaces. The subjects underwent visuospatial tasks before and immediately after receiving 1000 pulses of 10 Hz rTMS for a period of 20 min, and their responses were recorded. Our results demonstrated that the high frequency rTMS applied over the PPC produced facilitative effects on the visuospatial attention to the contraleteral hemispace. The inhibitory effect to the ipsilateral hemispace was noticeable only in the left PPC. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.