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

• Published in: Frontiers in psychology Vol. 1; p. 171
• Main Authors: Grube, Manon, Lee, Kwang-Hyuk, Griffiths, Timothy D, Barker, Anthony T, Woodruff, Peter W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Research Foundation 01.01.2010; Frontiers Media S.A
• Subjects: absolute; beat; Cerebellum; duration; Perception; Psychology; timing; duration; absolute; timing; transcranial magnetic theta-burst stimulation; beat; cerebellum; perception; relative
• ISSN: 1664-1078; 1664-1078
• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2010.00171

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.