Anodal Transcranial Direct-Current Stimulation Over the Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Influences Emotional Face Perception

Abstract

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is considered to play a crucial role in many high-level functions, such as cognitive control and emotional regulation. Many studies have reported that the DLPFC can be activated during the processing of emotional information in tasks requiring working memory. However, it is still not clear whether modulating the activity of the DLPFC influences emotional perception in a detection task. In the present study, using transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS), we investigated (1) whether modulating the right DLPFC influences emotional face processing in a detection task, and (2) whether the DLPFC plays equal roles in processing positive and negative emotional faces. The results showed that anodal tDCS over the right DLPFC specifically facilitated the perception of positive faces, but did not influence the processing of negative faces. In addition, anodal tDCS over the right primary visual cortex enhanced performance in the detection task regardless of emotional valence. Our findings suggest, for the first time, that modulating the right DLPFC influences emotional face perception, especially faces showing positive emotion.

Role of Sensorimotor Cortex in Gestural-Verbal Integration

“…In the present study, we observed faster responses during atDCS compared to stDCS in the gestural-verbal task. This result is consistent with previous studies that showed a tDCS-induced improvement in cognitive functions (Radman et al, 2018; Wang et al, 2018; Yang et al, 2018). Further studies investigated gestural-verbal integration and gesture processing using atDCS over frontal (Cohen-Maximov et al, 2015; Schulke and Straube, 2017) and parietal cortices (Bianchi et al, 2015).…”

Relationships between abnormal neural activities and cognitive impairments in patients with drug-naive first-episode schizophrenia

“…The SFG is a significant component of the DLPFC [60]. The DLPFC is well-known for its involvement in executive functions, and in fact, it is also involved in risky and moral decision-making [61], working memory [62], and social cognition [63]. Abnormal neuronal activities in the DLPFC are associated with auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia [64][65][66][67] and other advanced cognitive functions [68].…”

Relationships between abnormal neural activities and cognitive impairments in patients with drug-naive first-episode schizophrenia

“…The SFG is a significant component of the DLPFC [61]. The DLPFC is well-known for its involvement in executive functions, and in fact, it is also involved in risky and moral decision-making [62], working memory [63], and social cognition [64]. Abnormal neuronal activities in the DLPFC are associated with auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia [65][66][67][68] and other advanced cognitive functions [69].…”