Abstract
Background: Accounts of cognitive processes in judgment and decision-making are frequently based on a dual-process framework, which reflects two qualitatively different types of processing: intuitive (Type 1) and analytical (Type 2) processes.
Objective: The present study investigated the effects of bilateral transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) on judgment and decision-making performance.
Methods: Participants received anodal tDCS stimulation to the right DLPFC, left DLPFC or sham. There were 3 tasks: vignettes measuring heuristic thinking, belief bias syllogisms, and the cognitive reflection test (CRT), a measure of the ability to inhibit automatic responses to reach a correct solution. Fifty-four participants (mean age = 24.63 ± 4.46 years; 29 females) were recruited.
Results: Results showed that anodal tDCS to the right DLPFC was associated with an increase in cognitive reflection performance (Type 2 processing) as compared to left DLPFC and to sham. Logic thinking was reduced following anodal tDCS to the left DLPFC.
Conclusion: These findings are broadly consistent with a dual process framework, and cannot be explained by differences in cognitive ability and thinking style. The results demonstrate the involvement of the right DLPFC in cognitive reflection, and suggest the possibility of improving cognitive performance through tDCS.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 652-658 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Brain Stimulation |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 May 2019 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
Our main predictions were that increasing cortical excitability in the right DLPFC would increase performance on judgment and decision-making tasks that require inhibition of automatic processes in order to result in normatively correct (unbiased) answers. This was based on the concept of an algorithmic mind [61] monitoring and inhibiting (Type 1) processes. TDCS applied to the right DLPFC is known to affect executive functions [62,63] that include impulsivity control and set-shifting (see Ref. [49] for a review). Greater resistance to intuitive thinking and pre-potent responses (such as in the CRT and other tasks invoking heuristic thinking) rely on the engagement of impulsivity control and set-shifting during decision-making [63,64]. Our findings that anodal stimulation of the right DLPFC did improve cognitive reflection performance for typical CRT items and representativeness - but not logic thinking - support the notion that there is some distinction in the neural correlates that contribute to Type 1 versus Type 2 processes.
Keywords
- Cognitive reflection test
- Decision-making
- Neuromodulation
- tDCS
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biophysics
- General Neuroscience
- Clinical Neurology