Transcranial direct current stimulation alleviates the negative impact of immediate and chronic social exclusion on intertemporal decision-making

Social exclusion impairs decision-making, affecting social functioning. This study examines how social exclusion, in both immediate, experimentally-induced, and self-reported chronic forms, influences intertemporal decision-making, and whether transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) can mitigate these negative effects. Experiment 1 (n = 123) found that immediately excluded individuals favoured immediate rewards. Experiment 2 (n = 59) demonstrated that applying anodal tDCS over the right vlPFC reduced this preference. Self-reported chronic exclusion also led to a preference for immediate rewards (Experiment 3, n = 144), but multiple anodal tDCS sessions, again, exhibited an immediate remediation effect (Experiment 4, n = 36). We discuss how self-control mediates the link between exclusion and intertemporal decision-making. We further demonstrate the underlying role of the right vlPFC in social exclusion and intertemporal decision-making, and highlight tDCS as a potential therapeutic tool for increasing resilience and coping with negative situations such as social exclusion.