Disruption of Right Prefrontal Cortex by Low-Frequency Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Induces Risk-Taking Behavior
Open accessAbstract
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.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Inhibiting the dlPFC with low-frequency rTMS can make men take more risks in decisions.
“Inhibition of the dlPFC by low-frequency rTMS can increase risky decision making in males (288)”
From A brain-centric model of suicidal behavior (2020) · cites this paper as [288]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Statistical Methods for Psychology.
Gudgeon, A. C., & Howell, D. C. (1994) · Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series D (The Statistician) · doi:10.2307/2348956 · Cited by 8,364 · see citing works
A hot/cool-system analysis of delay of gratification: dynamics of willpower
Metcalfe, J., & Mischel, W. (1999) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/0033-295x.106.1.3 · Cited by 2,931 · see citing works
The somatic marker hypothesis and the possible functions of the prefrontal cortex
Damasio, A. R. (1996) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.1996.0125 · Cited by 2,847 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Second, in accordance with the somatic marker hypothesis (Damasio, 1996; Bechara and Damasio, 2005), right PFC rTMS could have affected the detection or processing of marker signals that arise in bioregulatory processes and guide decision-making.”
ResultWassermann, E. M. (1998) · Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology/Evoked Potentials Section · doi:10.1016/s0168-5597(97)00096-8 · Cited by 2,298 · see citing works
Decision making, impulse control and loss of willpower to resist drugs: a neurocognitive perspective
Bechara, A. (2005) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn1584 · Cited by 2,149 · cited 2× · see citing works
“…TMS-induced “appetite for risk” resembles that reported previously for drug abusers’ behavior (Fishbein et al., 2005), which suggests a failure in self-regulation (Lieberman and Eisenberger, 2004) or a deficient reflective system (Bechara, 2005) or “cool” system (Metcalfe and Mischel, 1999).”
BackgroundThe somatic marker hypothesis: A neural theory of economic decision
Bechara, A., & Damasio, A. R. (2005) · Games and Economic Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.geb.2004.06.010 · Cited by 1,986 · see citing works
Affect, generalization, and the perception of risk.
Johnson, E. J., & Tversky, A. (1983) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-3514.45.1.20 · Cited by 1,855 · see citing works
Stop-signal inhibition disrupted by damage to right inferior frontal gyrus in humans
Aron, A. R., Fletcher, P. C., Bullmore, E. T., Sahakian, B. J., & Robbins, T. W. (2003) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nn1003 · Cited by 1,771 · see citing works
Chambers, R. A., Taylor, J. R., & Potenza, M. N. (2003) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.160.6.1041 · Cited by 1,719 · see citing works
Right hemispheric dominance of inhibitory control: An event-related functional MRI study
Garavan, H., Ross, T. J., & Stein, E. A. (1999) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.96.14.8301 · Cited by 1,394 · see citing works
Bechara, A., Tranel, D., Damasio, H., & Damasio, A. R. (1996) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/6.2.215 · Cited by 1,179 · see citing works
What does the prefrontal cortex “do” in affect: perspectives on frontal EEG asymmetry research
Davidson, R. J. (2004) · Biological Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2004.03.008 · Cited by 995 · see citing works
Rogers, R. D., Owen, A. M., Middleton, H. C., Williams, E., Pickard, J. D., Sahakian, B. J., & Robbins, T. W. (1999) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.19-20-09029.1999 · Cited by 865 · see citing works
Critchley, H. D., Elliott, R., Mathias, C. J., & Dolan, R. J. (2000) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.20-08-03033.2000 · Cited by 813 · see citing works
Decision-making processes following damage to the prefrontal cortex
Manes, F., Sahakian, B., Clark, L., Rogers, R., Antoun, N., Aitken, M., & Robbins, T. (2002) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/awf049 · Cited by 799 · see citing works
Ghashghaei, H. T., & Barbas, H. (2002) · Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/s0306-4522(02)00446-3 · Cited by 785 · see citing works
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the Treatment of Depression
Gershon, A. A., Dannon, P. N., & Grunhaus, L. J. (2003) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.160.5.835 · Cited by 532 · see citing works
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in the Treatment of Depression
Fitzgerald, P. B., Brown, T. L., Marston, N., Daskalakis, Z. J., de Castella, A. R., & Kulkarni, J. (2003) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.60.9.1002 · Cited by 460 · see citing works
Decision-making in a Risk-taking Task A PET Study
Monique Ernst, D. (2002) · Neuropsychopharmacology · doi:10.1016/s0893-133x(01)00414-6 · Cited by 451 · see citing works
Tranel, D., Bechara, A., & Denburg, N. L. (2002) · Cortex · doi:10.1016/s0010-9452(08)70024-8 · Cited by 441 · see citing works
Studies in Cognition: The Problems Solved and Created by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Robertson, E. M., Théoret, H., & Pascual‐Leone, Á. (2003) · Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/089892903770007344 · Cited by 338 · see citing works
Clark, L., Manes, F. F., Antoun, N. M., Sahakian, B. J., & Robbins, T. W. (2003) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/s0028-3932(03)00081-2 · Cited by 303 · see citing works
Mechanism of disinhibition after brain lesions.
Starkstein, S., & Robinson, R. (1997) · Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/00005053-199702000-00007 · Cited by 243 · see citing works
Li, X., Nahas, Z. H., Kozel, F. A., Anderson, B. S., Bohning, D. E., & George, M. S. (2004) · Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2004.01.017 · Cited by 186 · see citing works
Decision making and neuropsychiatry
Rahman, S., Sahakian, B. J., Cardinal, R. N., Rogers, R. D., & Robbins, T. W. (2001) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/s1364-6613(00)01650-8 · Cited by 178 · see citing works
Risky decision making and the anterior cingulate cortex in abstinent drug abusers and nonusers
Fishbein, D. H., Eldreth, D. L., Hyde, C., Matochik, J. A., London, E. D., Contoreggi, C. S., Kurian, V., Kimes, A. S., Breeden, A. L., & Grant, S. J. (2005) · Cognitive Brain Research · doi:10.1016/j.cogbrainres.2004.12.010 · Cited by 153 · see citing works
Lateralized and frequency-dependent effects of prefrontal rTMS on regional cerebral blood flow
Knoch, D., Treyer, V., Regard, M., Müri, R. M., Buck, A., & Weber, B. (2006) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.12.025 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Self-citationKnoch, D., Brugger, P., & Regard, M. (2004) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhh196 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Self-citationConflict and Habit: A Social Cognitive Neuroscience Approach to the Self
Tesser, A., Wood, J. V., & Stapel, D. A. (2005) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203998052-7 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking
Steinberg, L. (2008) · Developmental Review · doi:10.1016/j.dr.2007.08.002 · Cited by 3,644 · see citing works
The Neural Basis of Inhibition in Cognitive Control
Aron, A. R. (2007) · The Neuroscientist · doi:10.1177/1073858407299288 · Cited by 1,098 · see citing works
Diminishing reciprocal fairness by disrupting the right prefrontal cortex
Knoch, D., Pascual-Leone, A., Meyer, K., Treyer, V., & Fehr, E. (2006) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1129156 · Cited by 1,024 · see citing works
Self-citationSocial neuroeconomics: the neural circuitry of social preferences
Fehr, E., & Camerer, C. F. (2007) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2007.09.002 · Cited by 779 · see citing works
The neural mechanisms of inter-temporal decision-making: understanding variability
Peters, J., & Büchel, C. (2011) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2011.03.002 · Cited by 693 · see citing works
Physiology of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of the human brain
Hoogendam, J. M., Ramakers, G. M. J., & Di Lazzaro, V. (2010) · Brain Stimulation · doi:10.1016/j.brs.2009.10.005 · Cited by 669 · see citing works
Differential effects of insular and ventromedial prefrontal cortex lesions on risky decision-making
Clark, L., Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Aitken, M. R. F., Sahakian, B. J., & Robbins, T. W. (2008) · Brain · doi:10.1093/brain/awn066 · Cited by 613 · see citing works
Figner, B., Mackinlay, R. J., Wilkening, F., & Weber, E. U. (2009) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition · doi:10.1037/a0014983 · Cited by 625 · see citing works
Neural computations associated with goal-directed choice
Rangel, A., & Hare, T. (2010) · Current Opinion in Neurobiology · doi:10.1016/j.conb.2010.03.001 · Cited by 532 · see citing works
van Heeringen, K., & Mann, J. J. (2014) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(14)70220-2 · Cited by 550 · see citing works
Aron, A. R., Durston, S., Eagle, D. M., Logan, G. D., Stinear, C. M., & Stuphorn, V. (2007) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3644-07.2007 · Cited by 539 · see citing works
Age differences in affective decision making as indexed by performance on the Iowa gambling task
Cauffman, E., Shulman, E. P., Steinberg, L., Claus, E., Banich, M. T., Graham, S., & Woolard, J. (2010) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0016128 · Cited by 488 · see citing works
Fecteau, S., Knoch, D., Fregni, F., Sultani, N., Boggio, P., & Pascual-Leone, A. (2007) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.3283-07.2007 · Cited by 470 · see citing works
Self-citationNeural correlates of value, risk, and risk aversion contributing to decision making under risk
Christopoulos, G. I., Tobler, P. N., Bossaerts, P., Dolan, R. J., & Schultz, W. (2009) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.2614-09.2009 · Cited by 451 · see citing works
Fecteau, S., Pascual-Leone, A., Zald, D. H., Liguori, P., Theoret, H., Boggio, P. S., & Fregni, F. (2007) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0314-07.2007 · Cited by 446 · see citing works
Self-citationvan den Bos, R., Harteveld, M., & Stoop, H. (2009) · Psychoneuroendocrinology · doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2009.04.016 · Cited by 369 · see citing works
Addiction, adolescence, and the integration of control and motivation
Gladwin, T. E., Figner, B., Crone, E. A., & Wiers, R. W. (2011) · Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience · doi:10.1016/j.dcn.2011.06.008 · Cited by 296 · see citing works
Neural systems underlying approach and avoidance in anxiety disorders
Robin L., A., & Martin, P. P. (2010) · Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience · doi:10.31887/dcns.2010.12.4/raupperle · Cited by 227 · see citing works
The serotonergic system in mood disorders and suicidal behaviour
Mann, J. J. (2013) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2012.0537 · Cited by 235 · see citing works
A brain-centric model of suicidal behavior
Mann, J. J., & Rizk, M. M. (2020) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2020.20081224 · Cited by 214 · see citing works
Resisting the Power of Temptations: The Right Prefrontal Cortex and Self‐Control
KNOCH, D., & FEHR, E. (2007) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1196/annals.1390.004 · Cited by 208 · see citing works
Self-citationBoggio, P. S., Zaghi, S., Villani, A. B., Fecteau, S., Pascual-Leone, A., & Fregni, F. (2010) · Drug and Alcohol Dependence · doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.06.019 · Cited by 197 · see citing works
Self-citationWeber, M. J., Messing, S. B., Rao, H., Detre, J. A., & Thompson‐Schill, S. L. (2014) · Human Brain Mapping · doi:10.1002/hbm.22429 · Cited by 183 · see citing works
Cho, S. S., Ko, J. H., Pellecchia, G., Van Eimeren, T., Cilia, R., & Strafella, A. P. (2010) · Brain Stimulation · doi:10.1016/j.brs.2009.10.002 · Cited by 179 · see citing works
Perry, J. L., Joseph, J. E., Jiang, Y., Zimmerman, R. S., Kelly, T. H., Darna, M., Huettl, P., Dwoskin, L. P., & Bardo, M. T. (2011) · Brain Research Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.brainresrev.2010.09.001 · Cited by 180 · see citing works
Stress, genetics and epigenetic effects on the neurobiology of suicidal behavior and depression
Mann, J. J., & Currier, D. M. (2010) · European Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2010.01.009 · Cited by 169 · see citing works
Within-group synchronization in the prefrontal cortex associates with intergroup conflict
Yang, J., Zhang, H., Ni, J., De Dreu, C. K. W., & Ma, Y. (2020) · Nature Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/s41593-020-0630-x · Cited by 161 · see citing works
Brain correlates of risky decision-making
Polezzi, D., Sartori, G., Rumiati, R., Vidotto, G., & Daum, I. (2010) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.08.068 · Cited by 163 · see citing works
Schonberg, T., Fox, C. R., Mumford, J. A., Congdon, E., Trepel, C., & Poldrack, R. A. (2012) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2012.00080 · Cited by 162 · see citing works
Neural correlates of cognitive control in gambling disorder: a systematic review of fMRI studies
Moccia, L., Pettorruso, M., De Crescenzo, F., De Risio, L., di Nuzzo, L., Martinotti, G., Bifone, A., Janiri, L., & Di Nicola, M. (2017) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.04.025 · Cited by 158 · see citing works
Güroğlu, B., van den Bos, W., van Dijk, E., Rombouts, S. A. R. B., & Crone, E. A. (2011) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.04.032 · Cited by 158 · see citing works
Noninvasive brain stimulation in traumatic brain injury
Demirtas-Tatlidede, A., Vahabzadeh-Hagh, A. M., Bernabeu, M., Tormos, J. M., & Pascual-Leone, A. (2012) · Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation · doi:10.1097/htr.0b013e318217df55 · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Neural correlates of expected risks and returns in risky choice across development
van Duijvenvoorde, A. C. K., Huizenga, H. M., Somerville, L. H., Delgado, M. R., Powers, A., Weeda, W. D., Casey, B. J., Weber, E. U., & Figner, B. (2015) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1924-14.2015 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Training-induced behavioral and brain plasticity in inhibitory control.
Spierer, L., Chavan, C. F., & Manuel, A. L. (2013) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2013.00427 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Kable, J. W., Caulfield, M. K., Falcone, M., McConnell, M., Bernardo, L., Parthasarathi, T., Cooper, N., Ashare, R., Audrain-McGovern, J., Hornik, R., et al. (2017) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.2832-16.2017 · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Neural correlates of risk prediction error during reinforcement learning in humans
d'Acremont, M., Lu, Z.-L., Li, X., Van der Linden, M., & Bechara, A. (2009) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.04.096 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Koehler, S., Ovadia-Caro, S., van der Meer, E., Villringer, A., Heinz, A., Romanczuk-Seiferth, N., & Margulies, D. S. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0084565 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and drug addiction
Barr, M. S., Farzan, F., Wing, V. C., George, T. P., Fitzgerald, P. B., & Daskalakis, Z. J. (2011) · International Review of Psychiatry · doi:10.3109/09540261.2011.618827 · Cited by 78 · see citing works
Amemori, K.-I., Amemori, S., & Graybiel, A. M. (2015) · The Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1731-14.2015 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Treatment-refractory substance use disorder: focus on alcohol, opioids, and cocaine
Soyka, M., & Mutschler, J. (2016) · Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2015.11.003 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Oswald, L. M., Wand, G. S., Wong, D. F., Brown, C. H., Kuwabara, H., & Brašić, J. R. (2015) · NeuroImage · doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.03.022 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Frontocingular Dysfunction in Bulimia Nervosa when Confronted with Disease‐specific Stimuli
Joos, A. A. B., Saum, B., Zeeck, A., Perlov, E., Glauche, V., Hartmann, A., Freyer, T., Sandholz, A., Unterbrink, T., van Elst, L. T., et al. (2011) · European Eating Disorders Review · doi:10.1002/erv.1150 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Adolescent Decision-Making Under Risk: Neural Correlates and Sex Differences
Korucuoglu, O., Harms, M. P., Kennedy, J. T., Golosheykin, S., Astafiev, S. V., Barch, D. M., & Anokhin, A. P. (2020) · Cerebral Cortex · doi:10.1093/cercor/bhz269 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Mahoney, J. J., Marshalek, P. J., Rezai, A. R., Lander, L. R., Berry, J. H., & Haut, M. W. (2020) · Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1037/pha0000289 · Cited by 18 · see citing works
- Authors
- Knoch, D., Gianotti, L. R. R., Pascual-Leone, A., Treyer, V., Regard, M., Hohmann, M., & Brugger, P.
- Affiliations
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 2006-06-14
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 24
- Pages
- 6469-6472
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- PMC
- PMC6674035
- OpenAlex
- W1985516139
- Cited by
- 517
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 30 · 2015: 37 · 2014: 45 · 2013: 39 · 2012: 32
- FWCI
- 9.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- BORIS (University Library Bern) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Open Access CRIS of the University of Bern
- Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Studies
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Keywords
- risk-taking, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation, decision making under risk, gambling behavior, hemispheric lateralization, gambling addiction, drug abuse
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Analysis of Variance, Choice Behavior, Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation, Humans, Functional Laterality, Male, Risk-Taking, Prefrontal Cortex, Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
