Distinct causal influences of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex in multiple-option decision making

Tsz-Fung WOO, Chun-Kit LAW, Kin-Hung TING, Che Hin Chetwyn CHAN, Nils KOLLING, Kei WATANABE, Bolton K.H. CHAU

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Our knowledge about neural mechanisms underlying decision making is largely based on experiments that involved few options. However, it is more common in daily life to choose between many options, in which processing choice information selectively is particularly important. The current study examined whether the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) are of particular importance to multiple-option decision making. Sixty-eight participants received anodal high definition-transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) to focally enhance dlPFC or PPC in a double-blind sham-controlled design. Participants then performed a multiple-option decision making task. We found longer fixations on poorer options were related to less optimal decisions. Interestingly, this negative impact was attenuated after applying anodal HD-tDCS over dlPFC, especially in choices with many options. This suggests that dlPFC has a causal role in filtering choice-irrelevant information. In contrast, these effects were absent after participants received anodal HD-tDCS over PPC. Instead, the choices made by these participants were more biased towards the best options presented on the side contralateral to the stimulation. This suggests PPC has a causal role in value-based spatial selection. To conclude, the dlPFC has a role in filtering undesirable options, whereas the PPC emphasizes the desirable contralateral options. Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1390-1404
JournalCerebral Cortex
Volume32
Issue number7
Early online dateSept 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2022

Citation

Woo, T.-F., Law, C.-K., Ting, K.-H., Chan, C. C. H., Kolling, N., Watanabe, K., & Chau, B. K. H. (2022). Distinct causal influences of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex in multiple-option decision making. Cerebral Cortex, 32(7), 1390-1404. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhab278

Keywords

  • Decision making
  • Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
  • Multiple option
  • Noninvasive brain stimulation
  • Parietal cortex

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