ArticlePloS one2026
Cognitive load and prefrontal neuromodulation shape exploration, risk-taking, and information seeking in experience-based decision making.
Article in PloS one, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Experience-based decision making requires individuals to balance exploration and exploitation under uncertainty, a balance that may be influenced by cognitive demands and prefrontal neuromodulation. We examined the joint effects of trivia-based cognitive load and anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in 60 healthy adults. The primary 2 × 2 between-subjects design crossed Stimulation (anodal tDCS vs sham) with Cognitive-Load Condition (Trivia-Based Load vs No-Trivia Control). Within the Trivia-Based Load subgroup, Lower-Load and Higher-Load Trivia were presented across trials for a secondary trial-level analysis. Participants completed 50 decisions involving a safe choice, a probabilistic high-reward choice, and a costly information-seeking choice. Primary analyses showed that Trivia-Based Load slowed responses and reduced risky choice. Anodal tDCS increased risky choice, information seeking, and alternation between choice types, but did not significantly affect reaction time. Stimulation × Cognitive-Load Condition interactions were significant for information seeking and alternation, reflecting different load-related patterns under anodal tDCS and sham, whereas interactions were not significant for reaction time or risky choice. Secondary analyses indicated longer decision times following Higher-Load than Lower-Load Trivia, without corresponding trial-level load effects on the choice outcomes. These findings show that cognitive load and anodal DLPFC tDCS have outcome-specific joint effects on experience-based decision making, including both additive and context-dependent patterns.
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