Involvement of ipsilateral parieto-occipital cortex in the planning of reaching movements: Evidence by TMS

Involvement of the ipsilateral hemisphere during planning of reaching movements is still matter of debate. While it has been demonstrated that the contralateral hemisphere is dominant in visuo-motor integration, involvement of the ipsilateral hemisphere has also been proposed. Furthermore, a dominant role for left posterior parietal cortex has been shown in this process, independently of the hand and visual field involved. In this study, the possible involvement of ipsilateral parieto-occipital cortex in planning of reaching movements was investigated by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). TMS was applied on four points of the parietal and occipital cortex at 50% (Time 1), 75% (Time 2) and 90% (Time 3) of reaction time from a go-signal to hand movement. The only effect observed was an increase in reaction time when a region around the parieto-occipital junction was stimulated at Time 2. These results provide further support to the hypothesis that, in the posterior parietal cortex, planning of reaching movements also relies on the ipsilateral hemisphere, in addition to the contralateral or dominant one.