On the role of rTJP in moral judgments: a tDCS study

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event On the role of rTJP in moral judgments: a tDCS study Laëtitia Leloup1*, Diana Dongo Miletich1, 2, Gaëlle Andriet1, Yves Vandermeeren3, 4 and Dana Samson1 1 Université catholique de Louvain-La-Neuve, Psychological Sciences Research Institute (IPSY), Belgium 2 Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), Belgium 3 Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), CHU Dinant Godinne, Belgium 4 Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), Belgium Abstract Representing and integrating information about intentions and consequences plays a crucial role in mature moral judgments(Cushman, 2008). It has been suggested that the rTPJ (right Temporo-Parietal Junction) is responsible for integrating intention information in moral judgments (Young, Cushman, Hauser, & Saxe, 2007 ; Young, Camprodon, Hauser, Pascual-Leone, & Saxe, 2010). In this study we investigated this hypothesis with tDCS (transcranial Direct Current Stimulation) in healthy participants. tDCS was used in order to enhance (anodal stimulation) or decrease (cathodal stimulation) the excitability of the rTPJ while participants made moral judgments. 72 right handed participants were randomly assigned to one of three tDCS conditions (anodal, cathodal, placebo) following a double-blind procedure. The first half of the moral judgments were processed without any stimulation (baseline) while the second half were processed under tDCS stimulation (anodal, cathodal, placebo). The scenarios presented to participants manipulated orthogonally the intention to harm (no intention to harm vs. intention to harm) and the consequence of the action (no consequence vs. harmful consequence). Results will be discussed in terms of the possible roles of the rTPJ in moral judgements. Short Comment Moral cognition alterations are frequent in brain-damaged patients and are problematic for the patients’ social and professional life (Cicerone, 1997). A better understanding of the cognitive mechanisms and the neural substrates underlying moral cognition can provide useful pointers to improve the diagnosis and rehabilitation of moral cognition impairments. Furthermore, this study also allows to see the effectiveness of tDCS for modulating complex cognitive functions. Keywords: Neuropsychology, Moral cognition, Moral judgments, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), right temporo-parietal junction (rTPJ) Conference: Belgian Brain Council 2014 MODULATING THE BRAIN: FACTS, FICTION, FUTURE, Ghent, Belgium, 4 Oct - 4 Oct, 2014. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Clinical Neuroscience Citation: Leloup L, Dongo Miletich D, Andriet G, Vandermeeren Y and Samson D (2014). On the role of rTJP in moral judgments: a tDCS study. Conference Abstract: Belgian Brain Council 2014 MODULATING THE BRAIN: FACTS, FICTION, FUTURE. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2014.214.00041 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 30 Jun 2014; Published Online: 12 Jul 2014. * Correspondence: Miss. Laëtitia Leloup, Université catholique de Louvain-La-Neuve, Psychological Sciences Research Institute (IPSY), Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, laetitia.leloup@uclouvain.be Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Laëtitia Leloup Diana Dongo Miletich Gaëlle Andriet Yves Vandermeeren Dana Samson Google Laëtitia Leloup Diana Dongo Miletich Gaëlle Andriet Yves Vandermeeren Dana Samson Google Scholar Laëtitia Leloup Diana Dongo Miletich Gaëlle Andriet Yves Vandermeeren Dana Samson PubMed Laëtitia Leloup Diana Dongo Miletich Gaëlle Andriet Yves Vandermeeren Dana Samson Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.