Attenuating illusory binding with TMS of the right parietal cortex

A number of neuroimaging and neuropsychology studies have implicated various regions of parietal cortex as playing a critical role in the binding of color and form into conjunctions. The current study investigates the role of two such regions by examining how parietal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) influences binding errors known as 'illusory conjunctions'. Participants made fewer binding errors after 1 Hz rTMS of the right intraparietal sulcus (IPS), while basic perception of features (color and shape) was unaffected. No perceptual effects were found following left IPS stimulation, or stimulation of the right angular gyros at the junction of the transverse occipital sulcus (IPS/TOS). These results support a role for the parietal cortex in feature binding but in ways that may require rethinking. (C) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.