Social Psychology and Noninvasive Electrical Stimulation A Promising Marriage

• Published in: European psychologist Vol. 21; no. 1; pp. 30 - 40
• Main Authors: Boggio, Paulo S, Rêgo, Gabriel G, Marques, Lucas M, Costa, Thiago L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hogrefe Publishing 2016
• Subjects: Brain Stimulation; Electrical Brain Stimulation; Human; Social Neuroscience; Social Psychology; Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; neuromodulation; social neuroscience; social plasticity; transcranial direct current stimulation
• ISSN: 1016-9040; 1878-531X
• DOI: 10.1027/1016-9040/a000247

Social neuroscience and psychology have made substantial
advances in the last few decades. Nonetheless, the field has relied mostly on
behavioral, imaging, and other correlational research methods. Here we argue
that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is an effective and relevant
technique to be used in this field of research, allowing for the establishment
of more causal brain-behavior relationships than can be achieved with most of
the techniques used in this field. We review relevant brain stimulation-aided
research in the fields of social pain, social interaction, prejudice, and social
decision-making, with a special focus on tDCS. Despite the fact that the use of
tDCS in Social Neuroscience and Psychology studies is still in its early days,
results are promising. As better understanding of the processes behind social
cognition becomes increasingly necessary due to political, clinical, and even
philosophical demands, the fact that tDCS is arguably rare in Social
Neuroscience research is very noteworthy. This review aims at inspiring
researchers to employ tDCS in the investigation of issues within Social
Neuroscience. We present substantial evidence that tDCS is indeed an appropriate
tool for this purpose.