Abstract
Introduction: Neuroimaging studies show cortical activation of the left hemisphere and right cerebellum during a verbal fluency test. We measured the performance of healthy subjects in a verbal fluency test after sham, 1Hz and 10 Hz rTMS applied to the right cerebellum.
Methodology: 10 male right handed volunteers, were stimulated in a randomized, double-blind, sham stimulation-controlled design. We used the NKP version of verbal fluency test after active stimulation and the VRS version after sham stimulation.
Results: The total score after 10 Hz rTMS was significantly lower than after 1Hz rTMS (Wilcoxon W = 17.5, Exact p = 0.040). We did not detect a sign. difference after sham rTMS between both groups (Wilcoxon W = 24, Exact p = 0,548).
Conclusion: Our results suggest, that 10Hz rTMS over right cerebellum leads to worse performance in a verbal fluency test. This finding supports the role of the right cerebellum in verbal fluency, but it is necessary to verify these findings in a larger sample size