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Mendes AJ, Galdo-Álvarez S, Lema A, Carvalho S, Leite J. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Decreases P3 Amplitude and Inherent Delta Activity during a Waiting Impulsivity Paradigm: Crossover Study. Brain Sci 2024; 14:168. [PMID: 38391742 PMCID: PMC10887229 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci14020168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The inability to wait for a target before initiating an action (i.e., waiting impulsivity) is one of the main features of addictive behaviors. Current interventions for addiction, such as transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), have been suggested to improve this inability. Nonetheless, the effects of tDCS on waiting impulsivity and underlying electrophysiological (EEG) markers are still not clear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of neuromodulation over the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG) on the behavior and EEG markers of reward anticipation (i.e., cue and target-P3 and underlying delta/theta power) during a premature responding task. For that, forty healthy subjects participated in two experimental sessions, where they received active and sham tDCS over the rIFG combined with EEG recording during the task. To evaluate transfer effects, participants also performed two control tasks to assess delay discounting and motor inhibition. The active tDCS decreased the cue-P3 and target-P3 amplitudes, as well as delta power during target-P3. While no tDCS effects were found for motor inhibition, active tDCS increased the discounting of future rewards when compared to sham. These findings suggest a tDCS-induced modulation of the P3 component and underlying oscillatory activity during waiting impulsivity and the discounting of future rewards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Augusto J Mendes
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4704-553 Braga, Portugal
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging of Aging (LANVIE), University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
- Geneva Memory Center, Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, Geneva University Hospitals, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Santiago Galdo-Álvarez
- Laboratorio de Neurociencia Cognitiva, Departamento de Psicoloxía Clínica e Psicobioloxía, Facultade de Psicoloxía, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 1205 Galicia, Spain
| | - Alberto Lema
- Psychological Neuroscience Laboratory, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4704-553 Braga, Portugal
| | - Sandra Carvalho
- Department of Education and Psychology, William James Center for Research (WJCR), University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
- CINTESIS@RISE, Center for Health Technology and Services Research at the Associate Laboratory RISE-Health Research Network, Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Jorge Leite
- CINTESIS@RISE, CINTESIS.UPT, Portucalense University, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal
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Sellitto M, Terenzi D, Starita F, di Pellegrino G, Battaglia S. The Cost of Imagined Actions in a Reward-Valuation Task. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12050582. [PMID: 35624971 PMCID: PMC9139426 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12050582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Growing evidence suggests that humans and other animals assign value to a stimulus based not only on its inherent rewarding properties, but also on the costs of the action required to obtain it, such as the cost of time. Here, we examined whether such cost also occurs for mentally simulated actions. Healthy volunteers indicated their subjective value for snack foods while the time to imagine performing the action to obtain the different stimuli was manipulated. In each trial, the picture of one food item and a home position connected through a path were displayed on a computer screen. The path could be either large or thin. Participants first rated the stimulus, and then imagined moving the mouse cursor along the path from the starting position to the food location. They reported the onset and offset of the imagined movements with a button press. Two main results emerged. First, imagery times were significantly longer for the thin than the large path. Second, participants liked significantly less the snack foods associated with the thin path (i.e., with longer imagery time), possibly because the passage of time strictly associated with action imagery discounts the value of the reward. Importantly, such effects were absent in a control group of participants who performed an identical valuation task, except that no action imagery was required. Our findings hint at the idea that imagined actions, like real actions, carry a cost that affects deeply how people assign value to the stimuli in their environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manuela Sellitto
- Centre for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy; (M.S.); (F.S.)
- School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2AS, UK
| | - Damiano Terenzi
- Department of Decision Neuroscience and Nutrition, German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE), 14558 Potsdam-Rehbrücke, Germany;
- Charité—Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Neuroscience Research Center, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Francesca Starita
- Centre for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy; (M.S.); (F.S.)
| | - Giuseppe di Pellegrino
- Centre for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy; (M.S.); (F.S.)
- Correspondence: (G.d.P.); (S.B.)
| | - Simone Battaglia
- Centre for Studies and Research in Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy; (M.S.); (F.S.)
- School of Psychology, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2AS, UK
- Correspondence: (G.d.P.); (S.B.)
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