Neuropsychologia
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We used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to study visual naming in 14 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. Ten had left hemisphere language by Wada testing and all experienced speech arrest with rTMS of the motor speech area in the left frontal lobe. One left-hander had speech arrest with stimulation of sites on both sides. ⋯ There was no significant effect on word reading. rTMS at the left hemisphere and right frontal sites produced reductions in reaction time for picture naming, but not for word reading. This was observed for both correct and incorrect responses. This study shows that left hemisphere rTMS can disrupt visual naming selectively.