Human cognition is often biased. It is a fundamental question in psychology how cognitive bias is modulated in the human brain. Automatic action tendency is a typical cognitive bias. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is a crucial area for processing various behavioral tasks. We investigated the functional role of DLPFC in the modulation of cognitive bias by testing the automatic action tendency during automatic and regulated behavioral tasks. Unilateral intermittent or continuous theta burst stimulation (excitatory iTBS or inhibitory cTBS) was used to manipulate the left or right DLPFC excitability and assess the changes in automatic action tendency during a manikin task. An approaching behavior with positive stimulus and avoiding behavior with negative stimulus were performed in an automatic task. An approaching behavior with negative stimulus and avoiding behavior with positive stimulus were performed in a regulated task. Reaction time was measured. We confirmed the automatic action tendency that reaction time for performing an automatic task was shorter than that for performing a regulated task. The automatic action tendency was enhanced after left DLPFC excitatory iTBS and was abolished after left DLPFC inhibitory cTBS stimulation. On the other hand, right DLPFC excitatory iTBS accelerated the avoiding behaviors and right DLPFC inhibitory cTBS accelerated approaching behaviors. The results suggest that left DLPFC modulates the automatic action tendency while the right DLPFC modulates the direction of behavioral tasks. We conclude that left DLPFC and right DLPFC are key nodes in modulating the cognitive bias while their functional roles are different.

中文翻译：

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背外侧前额叶皮层在调节认知偏差中的功能作用

人类的认知往往是有偏见的。认知偏差是如何在人脑中调节的，这是心理学中的一个基本问题。自动行动倾向是一种典型的认知偏差。背外侧前额叶皮层 (DLPFC) 是处理各种行为任务的关键区域。我们通过测试自动和规范行为任务期间的自动动作倾向来研究 DLPFC 在调节认知偏差中的功能作用。单侧间歇性或连续性 theta 爆发刺激（兴奋性 iTBS 或抑制性 cTBS）用于操纵左侧或右侧 DLPFC 兴奋性并评估人体模型任务期间自动动作趋势的变化。在自动任务中执行带有正面刺激的接近行为和避免带有负面刺激的行为。在受监管的任务中执行带有负面刺激的接近行为和避免带有正面刺激的行为。测量反应时间。我们确认了执行自动任务的反应时间比执行受管制任务的反应时间短的自动动作趋势。左侧DLPFC兴奋性iTBS后自动动作倾向增强，左侧DLPFC抑制性cTBS刺激后自动动作倾向消失。另一方面，右侧 DLPFC 兴奋性 iTBS 加速了回避行为，右侧 DLPFC 抑制性 cTBS 加速了接近行为。结果表明，左侧 DLPFC 调节自动动作倾向，而右侧 DLPFC 调节行为任务的方向。