Prefrontal and parietal contributions to refreshing: An rTMS study

Refreshing is a basic reflective component process that can serve to prolong activation of task-relevant information. Neuroimaging work has shown that left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and supramarginal gyrus (SMG) are selectively engaged during refreshing. Functional MRI (fMRI), however, is not able to determine if these regions are necessary for refreshing. In this experiment, we utilize repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to assess the behavioral effect of functionally deactivating these regions. We report a selective slowing of response times (RTs) to refresh words following MFG stimulation, consistent with a role of lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) in top-down control mechanisms necessary for refreshing. In contrast, SMG stimulation slowed participants in both refreshing and repeating words, indicating a more general role of SMG in verbal processing.