Research Department of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Psychiatric Preventive Medicine, Landschaftsverband Westfalen Lippe University Hospital, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e44747. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044747. Epub 2012 Sep 13.
Humans incur considerable costs to punish unfairness directed towards themselves or others. Recent studies using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) suggest that the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is causally involved in such strategic decisions. Presently, two partly divergent hypotheses are discussed, suggesting either that the right DLPFC is necessary to control selfish motives by implementing culturally transmitted social norms, or is involved in suppressing emotion-driven prepotent responses to perceived unfairness. Accordingly, we studied the role of the DLPFC in costly (i.e. third party) punishment by applying rTMS to the left and right DLPFC before playing a Dictator Game with the option to punish observed unfair behavior (DG-P). In addition, sham stimulation took place. Individual differences in empathy were assessed with the German version of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Costly punishment increased (non-significantly) upon disruption of the right--but not the left--DLPFC as compared to sham stimulation. However, empathy emerged as a highly significant moderator variable of the effect of rTMS over the right, but not left, DLPFC, suggesting that the right DLPFC is involved in controlling prepotent emotional responses to observed unfairness, depending on individual differences in empathy.
人类会为自己或他人遭受的不公平待遇付出巨大代价。最近使用重复经颅磁刺激（rTMS）的研究表明，右侧背外侧前额叶皮层（DLPFC）在这种策略性决策中起着因果作用。目前，有两种部分不同的假说正在讨论中，一种假说认为，右侧 DLPFC 通过实施文化传播的社会规范来控制自私动机，另一种假说认为，右侧 DLPFC 参与抑制对感知到的不公平的情绪驱动的优势反应。因此，我们通过在进行有惩罚选项的独裁者游戏（DG-P）之前，应用 rTMS 于左侧和右侧 DLPFC，来研究 DLPFC 在昂贵的（即第三方）惩罚中的作用。此外，还进行了假刺激。使用人际反应性指数的德语版本评估了同理心的个体差异。与假刺激相比，右侧 DLPFC 的干扰而非左侧 DLPFC 的干扰会增加（非显著地）昂贵的惩罚。然而，同理心是右侧而非左侧 DLPFC 上 rTMS 效应的一个高度显著的调节变量，这表明右侧 DLPFC 参与控制对观察到的不公平的优势情绪反应，取决于同理心的个体差异。
