title: Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of right temporoparietal area inhibits self-recognition.
abstract: Self-other discrimination is a crucial mechanism for social cognition. Neuroimaging and neurostimulation research has pointed to the involvement of the right temporoparietal region in a variety of self-other discrimination tasks. Although repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation over the right temporoparietal area has been shown to disrupt self-other discrimination in face-recognition tasks, no research has investigated the effect of increasing the cortical excitability in this region on self-other face discrimination. Here we used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to investigate changes in self-other discrimination with a video-morphing task in which the participant's face morphed into, or out of, a familiar other's face. The task was performed before and after 20 min of tDCS targeting the right temporoparietal area (anodal, cathodal, or sham stimulation). Differences in task performance following stimulation were taken to indicate a change in self-other discrimination. Following anodal stimulation only, we observed a significant increase in the amount of self-face needed to distinguish between self and other. The findings are discussed in relation to the control of self and other representations and to domain-general theories of social cognition.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Action & Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, London, UK. sophie.payne.2013@live.rhul.ac.uk.|Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, London, UK. sophie.payne.2013@live.rhul.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Payne
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Action & Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, London, UK.|Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, London, UK.
authors.forename: Manos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsakiris
mesh_terms: D001828:Body Image; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D000066499:Facial Recognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012938:Social Perception; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Face recognition; Self-recognition; Self–other discrimination; Social cognition; Temporoparietal junction; tDCS