AUTHOR=Grube Manon , Lee Kwang-Hyuk , Griffiths Timothy D., Barker Anthony T., Woodruff Peter W.

TITLE=Transcranial Magnetic Theta-Burst Stimulation of the Human Cerebellum Distinguishes Absolute, Duration-Based from Relative, Beat-Based Perception of Subsecond Time Intervals

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=1

YEAR=2010

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2010.00171

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2010.00171

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>Cerebellar functions in two types of perceptual timing were assessed: the <italic>absolute</italic> (duration-based) timing of single intervals and the <italic>relative</italic> (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 (<italic>n</italic> = 12) compared to the SHAM (<italic>n</italic> = 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.</p>