Causal role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in modulating the balance between Pavlovian and instrumental systems in the punishment domain

Previous literature suggests that a balance between Pavlovian and instrumental decision-making systems is critical for optimal decision-making. Pavlovian bias (i.e., approach toward reward-predictive stimuli and avoid punishment-predictive stimuli) often contrasts with the instrumental response. Although recent neuroimaging studies have identified brain regions that may be related to Pavlovian bias, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), it is unclear whether a causal relationship exists. Therefore, we investigated whether upregulation of the dlPFC using transcranial current direct stimulation (tDCS) would reduce Pavlovian bias. In this double-blind study, participants were assigned to the anodal or the sham group; they received stimulation over the right dlPFC for 3 successive days. On the last day, participants performed a reinforcement learning task known as the orthogonalized go/no-go task; this was used to assess each participants degree of Pavlovian bias in reward and punishment domains. We used computational modeling and hierarchical Bayesian analysis to estimate model parameters reflecting latent cognitive processes, including Pavlovian bias, go bias, and choice randomness. Several computational models were compared; the model with separate Pavlovian bias parameters for reward and punishment domains demonstrated the best model fit. When using a behavioral index of Pavlovian bias, the anodal group showed significantly lower Pavlovian bias in the punishment domain, but not in the reward domain, compared with the sham group. In addition, computational modeling showed that Pavlovian bias parameter in the punishment domain was lower in the anodal group than in the sham group, which is consistent with the behavioral findings. The anodal group also showed a lower go bias and choice randomness, compared with the sham group. These findings suggest that anodal tDCS may lead to behavioral suppression or change in Pavlovian bias in the punishment domain, which will help to improve comprehension of the causal neural mechanism. Author summaryA decision-making bias guided by the Pavlovian system (i.e., approach reward and avoid punishment) is often useful and predominant across species but it is also related to several psychiatric conditions. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is known to be related to such "Pavlovian bias" but it is unclear whether a causal relationship exists between them. Here, we evaluated whether decision-making biases including Pavlovian bias could be modulated by exogenous brain stimulation, transcranial current direct stimulation, over the right dlPFC for 3 successive days. A combination of behavioral analysis and computational modeling revealed that the anodal group had lower Pavlovian bias in the punishment domain compared with the sham group. In addition, the anodal group showed lower go bias and choice randomness than the sham group, which can also hamper instrumental learning. These findings suggest a causal role for the dlPFC in modulating the balance between the Pavlovian and instrumental decision-making systems.