Recent studies on written word production aim at studying how
information is transmitted between central (linguistic) and peripheral
(motor) processes. Neurocognitive models propose that the interface
between both types of processes would rely on a frontal writing center
(i.e. the GMFA or Exner's area). However there is still debate (1)
whether those levels are processed in a serial or a cascaded/parallel
way and (2) about the nature of the contribution of the GMFA. In
Experiment 1, we evaluated the interaction between length and
orthographic consistency effects in a writing-to-dictation task. We
observed consistency effects on latencies and writing speed depending on
the position in the word of the inconsistent segment. In Experiment 2,
16 participants underwent a writing-to-dictation task, manipulating
length and regularity effect, after inhibitory rTMS. We observed an
increase of latencies restricted to long and irregular words. Those
results are consistent with a cascaded view of writing and suggest a
more complex role of GMFA than initially expected.