Perturbation of Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Makes Power Holders Less Resistant to Tempting Bribes

Bribery is a common form of corruption that takes place when a briber suborns a power holder to achieve an advantageous outcome at the cost of moral transgression. Although bribery has been extensively investigated in the behavioral sciences, its underlying neurobiological basis remains poorly understood. Here, we employed transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) in combination with a novel paradigm (N = 119 adults) to investigate whether disruption of right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) causally changed bribe-taking decisions of power holders. Perturbing rDLPFC via tDCS specifically made participants more willing to take bribes as the relative value of the offer increased. This tDCS-induced effect could not be explained by changes in other measures. Model-based analyses further revealed that such neural modulation alters the concern for generating profits for oneself via taking bribes and reshapes the concern for the distribution inequity between oneself and the briber, thereby influencing the subsequent decisions. These findings reveal a causal role of rDLPFC in modulating corrupt behavior.

Automated summary

This study investigated the role of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) in modulating bribe-taking decisions of power holders using transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) and a novel paradigm. The results showed that disrupting rDLPFC via tDCS made participants more willing to take bribes, and this effect was not explained by changes in other measures. Model-based analyses further revealed that this neural modulation altered the concern for generating profits for oneself via taking bribes and reshaped the concern for the distribution inequity between oneself and the briber, thereby influencing subsequent decisions.