Role of Broca’s area in motor sequence programming

Abstract

Besides language, the contribution of Broca's area to motor cognition is now widely accepted. In this study, we investigated the role of its posterior part (left Brodmann area 44) in learning of a motor sequence by altering its functioning with a continuous theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (cTBS) in 12 healthy participants before they learned the sequence by observation. Twelve control individuals underwent the same experiment with cTBS applied over the vertex. Although cTBS over Brodmann area 44 did not impair sequence learning, it significantly increased the response latency as measured during the retention test, performed 24 h later. This finding suggests that Broca's area might be critically involved in organizing, and/or storing, the individual components of a motor sequence before its execution.