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Low-frequency brain stimulation to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex increases the negative impact of social exclusion among those high in personal distress

journal contribution
posted on 2017-01-01, 00:00 authored by B M Fitzgibbon, Melissa Kirkovski, N W Bailey, R H Thomson, N Eisenberger, Peter EnticottPeter Enticott, P B Fitzgerald
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is thought to play a key role in the cognitive control of emotion and has therefore, unsurprisingly, been implicated in the regulation of physical pain perception. This brain region may also influence the experience of social pain, which has been shown to activate similar neural networks as seen in response to physical pain. Here, we applied sham or active low-frequency (1 Hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to the left DLPFC, previously shown to exert bilateral effects in pain perception, in healthy participants. Following stimulation, participants played the “Cyberball Task”; an online ball-tossing game in which the subject participant is included or excluded. Compared to sham, rTMS did not modulate behavioural response to social exclusion. However, within the active rTMS group only, greater trait personal distress was related to enhanced negative outcomes to social exclusion. These results add further support to the notion that the effect of brain stimulation is not homogenous across individuals, and indicates the need to consider baseline individual differences when assessing response to brain stimulation. This seems particularly relevant in social neuroscience investigations, where trait factors may have a meaningful effect.

History

Journal

Social neuroscience

Volume

12

Issue

3

Pagination

237 - 241

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Location

London, Eng.

ISSN

1747-0919

eISSN

1747-0927

Language

eng

Publication classification

C Journal article; C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2016, Taylor & Francis