Transcranial direct current stimulation suggests a causal role of the medial prefrontal cortex in learning social hierarchy.

ABSTRACT: Social hierarchies can be inferred through observational learning of social relationships between individuals. Yet, little is known about the causal role of specific brain regions in learning hierarchies. Here, using transcranial direct current stimulation, we show a causal role of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in learning social versus non-social hierarchies. In a Training phase, participants acquired knowledge about social and non-social hierarchies by trial and error. During a Test phase, they were presented with two items from hierarchies that were never encountered together, requiring them to make transitive inferences. Anodal stimulation over mPFC impaired social compared with non-social hierarchy learning, and this modulation was influenced by the relative social rank of the m

SUBMITTER: Qu C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10924847 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature