Dissociating Arithmetic Operations in the Parietal Cortex Using 1 Hz Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: The Importance of Strategy Use

The triple-code model (TCM) of number processing suggests the involvement of distinct parietal cortex areas in arithmetic operations: the bilateral horizontal segment of the intraparietal sulcus (hIPS) for arithmetic operations that require the manipulation of numerical quantities (e.g., subtraction) and the left angular gyrus (AG) for arithmetic operations that require the retrieval of answers from long-term memory (e.g., multiplication). Although neuropsychological, neuroimaging, and brain stimulation studies suggest the dissociation of these operations into distinct parietal cortex areas, the role of strategy (online calculation vs. retrieval) is not yet fully established. In the present study, we further explored the causal involvement of the left AG for multiplication and left hIPS for subtraction using a neuronavigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) paradigm. Stimulation sites were determined based on an fMRI experiment using the same tasks. To account for the effect of strategy, participants were asked whether they used retrieval or calculation for each individual problem. We predicted that the stimulation of the left AG would selectively disrupt the retrieval of the solution to multiplication problems. On the other hand, stimulation of the left hIPS should selectively disrupt subtraction. Our results revealed that left AG stimulation was detrimental to the retrieval and online calculation of solutions for multiplication problems, as well as, the retrieval (but not online calculation) of the solutions to subtraction problems. In contrast, left hIPS stimulation had no detrimental effect on both operations regardless of strategy.