Effect of Modulating DLPFC Activity on Antisocial and Prosocial Behavior: Evidence From a tDCS Study

Abstract

Antisocial behavior and prosocial behavior in the condition of inequality have long been observed in daily life. Understanding the neurological mechanisms and brain regions associated with antisocial and prosocial behavior and the development of new interventions are important for reducing violence and inequality. Fortunately, neurocognitive research and brain imaging research have found a correlation between antisocial or prosocial behavior and the prefrontal cortex. Recent brain stimulation research adopting transcranial direct current stimulation or transcranial magnetic stimulation has shown a causal relationship between brain regions and behaviors, but the findings are mixed. In the present study, we aimed to study whether stimulation of the DLPFC can change participants’ antisocial and prosocial behavior in the condition of inequality. We integrated antisocial and prosocial behavior in a unified paradigm. Based on this paradigm, we discussed costly and cost-free antisocial and prosocial behavior. In addition, we also measured participants’ disadvantageous and advantageous inequality aversion. The current study revealed an asymmetric effect of bilateral stimulation over the DLPFC on costly antisocial behavior, while such an effect of antisocial behavior without cost and prosocial behavior with and without cost were not observed. Moreover, costly antisocial behavior exhibited by men increased after receiving right anodal/left cathodal stimulation and decreased after receiving right cathodal anodal/left anodal stimulation compared with the behavior observed under sham stimulation. However, subjects’ inequality aversion was not influenced by tDCS.

Does rDLPFC activity alter trust? Evidence from a tDCS study

“…Thus, the parameter β 1 quantified the participant’s trust difference between the anodal and cathodal groups or between the anodal and sham groups. X j represents the participant’s personal information, such as sex, age, family income, mother’s education, father’s education, and consumption ( Zheng et al, 2021a ). To explore the impact of previous payoff as trustee when experiencing role changing, we include what amount trustor get in the previous round as trustee (ltrustee) as a control variable.…”

Modulating OFC Activity With tDCS Alters Regret About Human Decision-Making

“…As Fudenberg (2006) said, even though neuroimaging proves the existence of interactions between our behaviors and cognitive processes, we should caution that the targeted brain area is not causing this behavior because the behavior of interest does not involve activity in a single brain area, but involves other upstream neurons. In other words, brain imaging results about the activity of a brain area following a behavior does not indicate that they are causally related; however, brain stimulation technologies such as tDCS and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can examine these causal relationships between the behavior and its related brain region ( Zheng et al, 2021 ).…”