title: Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and cerebellar contribution to in-group attitudes: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study.
abstract: We tend to express more positive judgments and behaviors toward individuals belonging to our own group compared to other (out-) groups. In this study, we assessed the role of the cerebellum and of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) - two regions critically implicated in social cognition processes - in mediating implicit valenced attitudes toward in-group and out-group individuals. To this aim, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in combination with a standard attitude priming task, in which Caucasian participants had to categorize the valence of a series of adjectives primed by either an in-group or an out-group face. In two behavioral experiments, we found an in-group bias (i.e. faster categorization of positive adjectives when preceded by in-group faces) but no evidence of an out-group bias. Interestingly, TMS over both the dmPFC and over the (right) cerebellum significantly interfered with the modulation exerted by group membership on adjective valence classification, abolishing the in-group bias observed at baseline. Overall, our data suggest that both the dmPFC and the cerebellum play a causal role in mediating implicit social attitudes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, 20126, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucile
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gamond
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, 20126, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, 20126, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: La Rocca
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, 20126, Italy.|Brain Connectivity Center, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Zaira
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-7516-7508
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D012919:Social Behavior; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: dorsomedial prefrontal cortex; in-group bias; prejudice; right cerebellum; transcranial magnetic stimulation