Transcranial magnetic stimulation and motor evoked potentials in speech perception research

ABSTRACT

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been employed to manipulate brain activity and to establish cortical excitability by eliciting motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in speech processing research. We will discuss the history, methodological underpinnings, key contributions, and future directions for studying speech processing using TMS and by eliciting MEPs. Furthermore, we will discuss specific challenges that are encountered when examining speech processing using TMS or by measuring MEPs. We suggest that future research may benefit from using TMS in conjunction with neuroimaging methods such as functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging or electroencephalography, and from the development of new stimulation protocols addressing cortico-cortical inhibition/facilitation and interhemispheric connectivity during speech processing.

KEYWORDS:

• Speech
• perception
• TMS
• MEP
• comprehension

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Leverhulme Trust under grant number RPG-2013-254 and the BIAL Foundation under grant number 267/14.