title: Transcranial direct current stimulation over prefrontal cortex diminishes degree of risk aversion.
abstract: Previous studies have established that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a powerful technique for manipulating the activity of the human cerebral cortex. Many studies have found that weighing the risks and benefits in decision-making involves a complex neural network that includes the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). We studied whether participants change the balance of risky and safe responses after receiving tDCS applied over the right and left prefrontal cortex. A total of 60 healthy volunteers performed a risk task while they received either anodal tDCS over the right prefrontal cortex, with cathodal over the left; anodal tDCS over the left prefrontal cortex, with cathodal over the right; or sham stimulation. The participants tended to choose less risky options after receiving sham stimulation, demonstrating that the task might be highly influenced by the "wealth effect". There was no statistically significant change after either right anodal/left cathodal or left anodal/right cathodal tDCS, indicating that both types of tDCS impact the participants' degrees of risk aversion, and therefore, counteract the wealth effect. We also found gender differences in the participants' choices. These findings extend the notion that DLPFC activity is critical for risk decision-making. Application of tDCS to the right/left DLPFC may impact a person's attitude to taking risks.
authors.affiliation: College of Economics, and Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences, Zhejiang University, No. 38, Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, China. Electronic address: hangye@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: College of Economics, and Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences, Zhejiang University, No. 38, Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, China. Electronic address: zjuchenshu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Economics, and Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences, Zhejiang University, No. 38, Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, China. Electronic address: hdqjerry@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Daqiang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: College of Economics, and Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences, Zhejiang University, No. 38, Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, China. Electronic address: wsq2424@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Siqi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Economics, and Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences, Zhejiang University, No. 38, Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, China. Electronic address: jameschia@163.com.
authors.forename: Yongmin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: School of Economics and International Trade, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, No. 18, Xueyuan Street, Hangzhou 310018, China. Electronic address: luojun_zju@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012737:Sex Factors; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; Risk aversion; Risk decision-making; Transcranial direct current stimulation