Disruption of right prefrontal cortex by low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation induces risk-taking behavior

Knoch, Daria; Gianotti, Lorena; Pascual-Leone, Alvaro; Treyer, Valerie; Regard, Marianne; Hohmann, Martin; Brugger, Peter (2006). Disruption of right prefrontal cortex by low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation induces risk-taking behavior. Journal of neuroscience, 26(24), pp. 6469-6472. Society for Neuroscience 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0804-06.2006

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Decisions require careful weighing of the risks and benefits associated with a choice. Some people need to be offered large rewards to balance even minimal risks, whereas others take great risks in the hope for an only minimal benefit. We show here that risk-taking is a modifiable behavior that depends on right hemisphere prefrontal activity. We used low-frequency, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to transiently disrupt left or right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) function before applying a well known gambling paradigm that provides a measure of decision-making under risk. Individuals displayed significantly riskier decision-making after disruption of the right, but not the left, DLPFC. Our findings suggest that the right DLPFC plays a crucial role in the suppression of superficially seductive options. This confirms the asymmetric role of the prefrontal cortex in decision-making and reveals that this fundamental human capacity can be manipulated in normal subjects through cortical stimulation. The ability to modify risk-taking behavior may be translated into therapeutic interventions for disorders such as drug abuse or pathological gambling.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

07 Faculty of Human Sciences > Institute of Psychology > Social Neuroscience and Social Psychology

UniBE Contributor:

Knoch, Daria, Gianotti, Lorena

Subjects:

100 Philosophy > 150 Psychology

ISSN:

0270-6474

Publisher:

Society for Neuroscience

Language:

English

Submitter:

Lorena Gianotti

Date Deposited:

24 Dec 2014 10:56

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:38

Publisher DOI:

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0804-06.2006

PubMed ID:

16775134

Uncontrolled Keywords:

decision-making, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inhibitory control, laterality, transcranial magnetic stimulation, risk-taking

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.61185

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/61185

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