TY - JOUR
T1 - No change in social decision-making following transcranial direct current stimulation of the right temporoparietal junction
AU - Blair-West, Laura F.
AU - Hoy, Kate E.
AU - Hall, Phillip J.
AU - Fitzgerald, Paul B.
AU - Fitzgibbon, Bernadette M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Blair-West, Hoy, Hall, Fitzgerald and Fitzgibbon.
PY - 2018/4/19
Y1 - 2018/4/19
N2 - The right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) is thought to play an important role in social cognition and pro-social decision-making. One way to explore this link is through the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation method that is able to modulate cortical activity. The aim of this research was therefore to determine whether anodal tDCS to the rTPJ altered response to a social decision-making task. In this study, 34 healthy volunteers participated in a single-center, double-blinded, sham-controlled crossover design. Subjects received 20 min of active/sham anodal tDCS to the rTPJ before undertaking the Ultimatum Game (UG), a neuroeconomics paradigm in which participants are forced to choose between monetary reward and punishing an opponent's unfairness. Contrary to expectations, we found no significant difference between anodal and sham stimulation with regard to either the total number or reaction time of unfair offer rejections in the UG. This study draws attention to methodological issues in tDCS studies of the rTPJ, and highlights the complexity of social decision-making in the UG.
AB - The right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) is thought to play an important role in social cognition and pro-social decision-making. One way to explore this link is through the use of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive brain stimulation method that is able to modulate cortical activity. The aim of this research was therefore to determine whether anodal tDCS to the rTPJ altered response to a social decision-making task. In this study, 34 healthy volunteers participated in a single-center, double-blinded, sham-controlled crossover design. Subjects received 20 min of active/sham anodal tDCS to the rTPJ before undertaking the Ultimatum Game (UG), a neuroeconomics paradigm in which participants are forced to choose between monetary reward and punishing an opponent's unfairness. Contrary to expectations, we found no significant difference between anodal and sham stimulation with regard to either the total number or reaction time of unfair offer rejections in the UG. This study draws attention to methodological issues in tDCS studies of the rTPJ, and highlights the complexity of social decision-making in the UG.
KW - Altruistic punishment
KW - Mentalizing
KW - Right temporoparietal junction
KW - Social decision-making
KW - Transcranial direct current stimulation
KW - Ultimatum Game
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85046106111&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fnins.2018.00258
DO - 10.3389/fnins.2018.00258
M3 - Article
SN - 1662-4548
VL - 12
JO - Frontiers in Neuroscience
JF - Frontiers in Neuroscience
IS - APR
M1 - 258
ER -