Abstract
Background: Recent evidence suggests that the dorsal medial frontal cortex (dMFC) may make an important contribution to perceptual decision-making, and not only to motor control. Objective/hypothesis: By fitting psychometric functions to behavioural data after TMS we tested whether the dMFC is critical specifically for the precision and/or bias of perceptual judgements. Additionally we aimed to disentangle potential roles of the dMFC in dealing with perceptual versus response switching. Methods: A subjective visual vertical task (SVV) was used in which participants weight visual (and other, e.g., vestibular) information to establish whether a line is oriented vertically. To ensure a high perceptual demand (putatively necessary to demonstrate a dMFC involvement) SW lines were presented inside pop-out targets within a visual search array. Distinct features of perceptual performance were analysed before as compared to following theta-burst TMS stimulation of the dMFC, a control site, or no stimulation, in three groups, each of 20 healthy participants. Results: dMFC stimulation improved the precision of verticality judgments. Moreover, dMFC stimulation improved accuracy, selectively when response switches occurred with perceptual repeats. Conclusion: These findings point to a causal role of the dMFC in establishing the precision of perceptual decision making, demonstrably dissociable from an additional role in motor control in attentionally demanding contexts.
| Dokumententyp: | Zeitschriftenartikel |
|---|---|
| Fakultät: | Medizin
Medizin > Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy) |
| Themengebiete: | 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit |
| ISSN: | 1935-861X |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Dokumenten ID: | 85551 |
| Datum der Veröffentlichung auf Open Access LMU: | 25. Jan. 2022, 09:14 |
| Letzte Änderungen: | 24. Apr. 2024, 11:05 |
| DFG: | Gefördert durch die Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - 390857198 |
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