The Role of Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex For Decision Value Computations: First Evidence From Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging

In previous studies we found a specific neural valuation network to encode decision values (DV). This neural network consists of the bilateral medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). While the mOFC has been found in several previous studies to encode economic value, little is known about the specific contribution of right DLPFC in this valuation process. Here, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in combination with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to better understand the contribution of the DLPFC for DV computations. Preliminary results show that that inhibiting excitability in the right as compared to the left DLPFC and to an inactive placebo decreases behavioral measures of DV.

Citation:

Hilke Plassmann, Mickael Camus, and Neil Halelamien (2009) ,"The Role of Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex For Decision Value Computations: First Evidence From Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging", in AP - Asia-Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 8, eds. Sridhar Samu, Rajiv Vaidyanathan, and Dipankar Chakravarti, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 378-378.