Em. Wassermann et al., Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the dominant hemisphere can disrupt visual naming in temporal lobe epilepsy patients, NEUROPSYCHO, 37(5), 1999, pp. 537-544
We used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to study visual
naming in 14 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. Ten had left hemisphere
language by Wada testing and all experienced speech arrest with rTMS of th
e motor speech area in the left frontal lobe. One left-hander had speech ar
rest with stimulation of sites on both sides. Subjects were asked to name p
ictures or read words presented on a computer monitor, rTMS was delivered o
n half of the trials. Stimulation sites were the motor speech area in the l
eft frontal lobe, the mirror site on the right, and the left and right mid
superior and posterior temporal lobes. rTMS at left hemisphere sites caused
more naming errors than did right hemisphere rTMS. All individual subjects
, except two who had temporal lobe resections and the one with bilateral sp
eech arrest, produced more naming errors with rTMS of left hemisphere sites
. There was no significant effect on word reading. rTMS at the left hemisph
ere and right frontal sites produced reductions in reaction time for pictur
e naming, but not for word reading. This was observed for both correct and
incorrect responses. This study shows that left hemisphere rTMS can disrupt
visual naming selectively. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reser
ved.