Precuneus stimulation alters abstract verbal memory encoding

Abstract

The present study investigated the role of the precuneus in memory encoding of abstract and concrete words, with the combination of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and continuous Theta Burst Stimulation (cTBS) techniques. The memory encoding process was scanned in the fMRI to detect the regions of interest for the difference in memory formation of these two types of words. The real and sham cTBS stimulations were applied over the left precuneus. The fMRI results showed that the left precuneus was deactivated for the memory encoding of both types of words, with concrete words inducing significantly more deactivation. The cTBS stimulation over the left precuneus significantly reduced the reaction time of retrieval of abstract words but not concrete words. It is concluded that precuneus plays a role in modulating the abstract but not the concrete verbal memory encoding. • This study examines the role of precuneus in verbal episodic memory with combination of fMRI and cTBS. • The precuneus was deactivated for the episodic memory encoding of abstract and concrete words. • The precuneus was deactivated significantly less for the episodic encoding of abstract words than that of the concrete words. • The cTBS stimulation over precuneus significantly reduced the reaction time of retrieval of abstract words instead of concrete words.