Frontal Beta Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Improves Reversal Learning

Wischnewski, Miles; Joergensen, Mie L; Compen, Boukje; Schutter, Dennis J.L.G.

doi:10.1093/cercor/bhz309

Cited by 26 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Interestingly, the results of the current study show that the high and low theta/ beta power ratio groups only differed with respect to the effect of the reward intervention on accuracy, not with respect to the effect of the reward intervention on reaction speed. It may be speculated that individuals with a relatively low theta/ beta power ratio were better able to adjust the level of cognitive control in order to improve the accuracy of their responses during the reward blocks; this idea is consistent with thet results of a recent tACS study (Wischnewski, Joergensen, Compen, & Schutter, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Individual differences in the effects of salience and reward on impulse control and action selection

Schutte

Schutter

Kenemans

2022

Preprint

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Impulse control and adequate decision making are vital functions when it comes to detection and adherence to societal rules, especially in critical circumstances such as the Covid pandemic. In the current study we tested the hypothesis that increasing the salience of environmental cues would be most effective in improving impulse control, as assessed in a stop-signal task, in subjects with low environmental susceptibility as indexed by low pre-stimulus EEG alpha power. In addition, we anticipated that an external-reward intervention improves performance during a Go/No go task, especially in individuals with low task-induced motivation as indexed by low theta/ beta power ratios. High salience of stop signals enhanced stopping performance but there was no difference in responsivity to the salience intervention between participants with high and low EEG alpha power. Individuals with low theta/ beta power ratios responded more accurately when rewards were at stake. Together these results suggest that increasing the salience of external cues may help impulse control in general, whereas the effectiveness of external-reward interventions is higher in individuals with low task-induced motivation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Individual differences in the effects of salience and reward on impulse control and action selection

Schutte

Schutter

Kenemans

2022

Preprint

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“…The copyright holder for this preprint (which this version posted July 26, 2021. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.26.453851 doi: bioRxiv preprint Stimulation was delivered by a NeuroConn DC current stimulator (NeuroConn GmbH, Ilmenau, Germany). Four stimulation electrodes (5 x 3 cm) were placed to target the left and right prefrontal cortex, cm lateral of AF3 and AF4 and 1 cm lateral of Fc1 and Fc2 [29]. This montage allowed for either intra-hemispheric (tACS INTRA ) or inter-hemispheric (tACS TRANS ) current flow (Figure 2) [36,37].…”

Section: Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The association between frontal theta oscillations and risk-taking behavior has been further explored by attempting to modulate decision-making under risk using transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) [19,[27][28][29][30]. TACS is thought to modulate endogenous oscillatory activity by applying exogenous sinusoidal currents to the scalp [31,32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of theta transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on exploration and exploitation during uncertain decision-making

Wischnewski

Compen

2021

Preprint

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Exploring ones surroundings may yield unexpected rewards, but is associated with uncertainty and risk. Alternatively, exploitation of certain outcomes is related to low risk, yet potentially better outcomes remain unexamined. As such, risk-taking behavior depends on perceived uncertainty and a trade-off between exploration-exploitation. Previously, it has been suggested that risk-taking may relate to theta activity in the prefrontal cortex. Furthermore, previous studies hinted at a relationship between a right-hemispheric bias in frontal theta asymmetry and risky behavior. In the present double-blind sham-controlled within-subject study, we applied bifrontal transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) at the theta frequency (5 Hz) on eighteen healthy volunteers during a gambling task. Two tACS montages with either left-right or posterior-anterior current flow were employed at an intensity of 1 mA. Results showed that, compared to sham, theta tACS increased perceived uncertainty irrespective of current flow direction. Despite this observation, no direct effect of tACS on exploration behavior and general risk-taking was observed. Furthermore, frontal theta asymmetry was more right-hemispherically biased after posterior-anterior tACS, compared to sham. Finally, we used electric field simulation to identify which regions were targeted by the tACS montages as an overlap in regions may explain why the two montages resulted in comparable outcomes. Our findings provide a first step towards understanding the relationship between frontal theta oscillations and different features of risk-taking.

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“…In addition, TES-which can be applied via direct or alternating currents-can also be used to modulate decision making and reward processing. For instance, transcranial alternating current stimulation applied over frontoparietal regions selectively disrupts value-based decision making (Polanía et al, 2015) and reversal learning (Wischnewski et al, 2016(Wischnewski et al, , 2020). Yet, a key problem for noninvasive brain stimulation in humans is in modulating deeper, subcortical brain regions such as the striatum and midbrain.…”

Section: Methodological Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decision neuroscience and neuroeconomics: Recent progress and ongoing challenges

Dennison

Sazhin

Smith

2022

WIRES Cognitive Science

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In the past decade, decision neuroscience and neuroeconomics have developed many new insights in the study of decision making. This review provides an overarching update on how the field has advanced in this time period. Although our initial review a decade ago outlined several theoretical, conceptual, methodological, empirical, and practical challenges, there has only been limited progress in resolving these challenges. We summarize significant trends in decision neuroscience through the lens of the challenges outlined for the field and review examples where the field has had significant, direct, and applicable impacts across economics and psychology. First, we review progress on topics including reward learning, explore-exploit decisions, risk and ambiguity, intertemporal choice, and valuation. Next, we assess the impacts of emotion, social rewards, and social context on decision making. Then, we follow up with how individual differences impact choices and new exciting developments in the prediction and neuroforecasting of future decisions. Finally, we consider how trends in decision-neuroscience research reflect progress toward resolving past challenges, discuss new and exciting applications of recent research, and identify new challenges for the field.

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Frontal Beta Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation Improves Reversal Learning

Cited by 26 publications

References 51 publications

Individual differences in the effects of salience and reward on impulse control and action selection

Individual differences in the effects of salience and reward on impulse control and action selection

Effects of theta transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on exploration and exploitation during uncertain decision-making

Decision neuroscience and neuroeconomics: Recent progress and ongoing challenges

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