Frontal tDCS modulates orbitofrontal reality filtering

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuromodulation

Background:

• Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a crucial role in reality filtering, a memory control mechanism essential for aligning thought and behavior with reality.
• Dysfunction in reality filtering can lead to cognitive disturbances such as confabulation and disorientation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the reality filtering function of the orbitofrontal cortex.
• To determine if polarity-specific stimulation over the frontal pole can modulate reality filtering.

Main Methods:

• A reality filtering task was administered to 20 healthy participants.
• Participants received either cathodal, anodal, or sham tDCS over the frontal pole in separate sessions.
• Computational models were used to predict current flow in the posterior medial OFC.

Main Results:

• Cathodal tDCS over the frontal pole significantly impaired reality filtering performance compared to anodal and sham stimulation.
• The findings align with computational predictions of polarity-specific current distribution.

Conclusions:

• Reality filtering is an orbitofrontal cortex function that can be modulated by tDCS.
• This study demonstrates the potential of tDCS as a tool for investigating and potentially influencing orbitofrontal cognitive functions.