Transcranial magnetic theta-burst stimulation of the human cerebellum distinguishes absolute, duration-based from relative, beat-based perception of subsecond time intervals.

oleh: Manon Grube, Kwang-Hyuk Lee, Timothy D Griffiths, Anthony T Barker, Peter WR Woodruff

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Frontiers Media S.A. 2010-10-01

Deskripsi

Cerebellar functions in two types of perceptual timing were assessed: the absolute (duration-based) timing of single intervals and the relative (beat-based) timing of rhythmic sequences. Continuous transcranial magnetic theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) was applied over the medial cerebellum and performance was measured adaptively before and after stimulation. A large and significant effect was found in the TBS (n=12) compared to the SHAM (n=12) group for single-interval timing but not for the detection of a regular beat or a deviation from it. The data support the existence of distinct perceptual timing mechanisms and an obligatory role of the cerebellum in absolute interval timing with a functional dissociation from relative timing of interval within rhythmic sequences based on a regular beat.