The truth about lying: inhibition of the anterior prefrontal cortex improves deceptive behavior.
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The truth about lying: inhibition of the anterior prefrontal cortex improves deceptive behavior. / Karim, Ahmed A; Schneider, Markus; Lotze, Martin; Veit, Ralf; Sauseng, Paul; Braun, Christoph; Birbaumer, Niels.
In: CEREB CORTEX, Vol. 20, No. 1, 1, 2010, p. 205-213.Research output: SCORING: Contribution to journal › SCORING: Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - The truth about lying: inhibition of the anterior prefrontal cortex improves deceptive behavior.
AU - Karim, Ahmed A
AU - Schneider, Markus
AU - Lotze, Martin
AU - Veit, Ralf
AU - Sauseng, Paul
AU - Braun, Christoph
AU - Birbaumer, Niels
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Recent neuroimaging studies have indicated a predominant role of the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC) in deception and moral cognition, yet the functional contribution of the aPFC to deceptive behavior remains unknown. We hypothesized that modulating the excitability of the aPFC by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could reveal its functional contribution in generating deceitful responses. Forty-four healthy volunteers participated in a thief role-play in which they were supposed to steal money and then to attend an interrogation with the Guilty Knowledge Test. During the interrogation, participants received cathodal, anodal, or sham tDCS. Remarkably, inhibition of the aPFC by cathodal tDCS did not lead to an impairment of deceptive behavior but rather to a significant improvement. This effect manifested in faster reaction times in telling lies, but not in telling the truth, a decrease in sympathetic skin-conductance response and feelings of guilt while deceiving the interrogator and a significantly higher lying quotient reflecting skillful lying. Increasing the excitability of the aPFC by anodal tDCS did not affect deceptive behavior, confirming the specificity of the stimulation polarity. These findings give causal support to recent correlative data obtained by functional magnetic resonance imaging studies indicating a pivotal role of the aPFC in deception.
AB - Recent neuroimaging studies have indicated a predominant role of the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC) in deception and moral cognition, yet the functional contribution of the aPFC to deceptive behavior remains unknown. We hypothesized that modulating the excitability of the aPFC by transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) could reveal its functional contribution in generating deceitful responses. Forty-four healthy volunteers participated in a thief role-play in which they were supposed to steal money and then to attend an interrogation with the Guilty Knowledge Test. During the interrogation, participants received cathodal, anodal, or sham tDCS. Remarkably, inhibition of the aPFC by cathodal tDCS did not lead to an impairment of deceptive behavior but rather to a significant improvement. This effect manifested in faster reaction times in telling lies, but not in telling the truth, a decrease in sympathetic skin-conductance response and feelings of guilt while deceiving the interrogator and a significantly higher lying quotient reflecting skillful lying. Increasing the excitability of the aPFC by anodal tDCS did not affect deceptive behavior, confirming the specificity of the stimulation polarity. These findings give causal support to recent correlative data obtained by functional magnetic resonance imaging studies indicating a pivotal role of the aPFC in deception.
KW - Adult
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Female
KW - Young Adult
KW - Neuropsychological Tests
KW - Electric Stimulation
KW - Neural Inhibition physiology
KW - Conscience
KW - Deception
KW - Galvanic Skin Response physiology
KW - Guilt
KW - Lie Detection
KW - Prefrontal Cortex physiology
KW - Role Playing
KW - Adult
KW - Humans
KW - Male
KW - Female
KW - Young Adult
KW - Neuropsychological Tests
KW - Electric Stimulation
KW - Neural Inhibition physiology
KW - Conscience
KW - Deception
KW - Galvanic Skin Response physiology
KW - Guilt
KW - Lie Detection
KW - Prefrontal Cortex physiology
KW - Role Playing
M3 - SCORING: Zeitschriftenaufsatz
VL - 20
SP - 205
EP - 213
JO - CEREB CORTEX
JF - CEREB CORTEX
SN - 1047-3211
IS - 1
M1 - 1
ER -