Neurostimulation and Sense of Agency: Three tDCS Experiments on the Modulation of Intentional Binding.

Objectives

This research investigated the impact of transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) on sense of agency (SoA) when focusing on cortical regions like the cerebellum, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and the angular gyrus (AG). To this aim, three experiments were carried out, and agency was assessed through the Wundt Clock Paradigm, which provides a measure of intentional binding.

Methods

The first experiment provided offline cathodal stimulation applied to the right cerebellum, with the return electrode placed on the left DLPFC, and participants were randomly assigned to either the placebo group or the active group. The second experiment adopted the same montage as the previous one, but the online stimulation was provided in a within-subjects design.

Results

Since none of these studies targeting the cerebellum produced significant results on the agency measures, we carried out a third experiment aimed to replicate a previous study that provided inhibitory stimulation of the left AG. However, this also showed no modulations of SoA.

Conclusions

Several explanations could be given for these negative results. For example, the inter-individual variability, task complexity, and limitations of tDCS technology may contribute to the inconsistencies of the results. Also, the failure to replicate a previous study raises the issue of the replicability crisis in psychology. Nevertheless, this study may represent an important reference for research aimed at modulating SoA through the neuromodulation of brain areas included in the agency network. Future studies could benefit from assessing individual cognitive abilities supporting agency, optimizing stimulation protocols, and exploring alternative brain stimulation techniques to obtain significant results.