A causal role of the human temporoparietal junction in computing social influence during goal-directed learning

A causal role of the human temporoparietal junction in computing social influence during goal-directed learning | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Short Report A causal role of the human temporoparietal junction in computing social influence during goal-directed learning Lei Zhang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7836223/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The human temporoparietal junction (TPJ) is a brain area crucial for processing social information. Although brain stimulation studies have started to explore the causal function of TPJ under social contexts, few have explicitly considered bilateral TPJ as target regions. Here, leveraging non-invasive continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) and hierarchical Bayesian computational modeling, we tested whether left or right TPJ (with vertex as control) is causally involved in how dissenting choices by others influence individuals’ choice adjustments in goal-directed learning. In our social learning paradigm, participants (N = 31) first made their private decision, and then were allowed to re-adjust their choices after observing choices of four other players. Behaviorally, we show that disruption of the left, but not the right TPJ, weakened participants’ choice adjustment and delayed their response speed when confronted with dissenting information from the other players. Computationally, disrupting activity in the left TPJ attenuated the degree of computing social influence during choice adjustment, whereas the extent to which how observational learning from others’ choices was integrated into direct learning remained intact. Together, our results provide evidence for the causal role of left TPJ in social influence during goal-directed learning and shed light on the relational function (with respect to oneself) of the TPJ in social cognition. Cognitive Neuroscience Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7836223","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Short Report","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":528128137,"identity":"922978c5-60e5-40fe-8590-df7292d95e66","order_by":0,"name":"Lei Zhang","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA50lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACPgYGNjCDjb/5GDNMlLEBjxY2mBY+iWNpJGqRY8gxI1YL+7MHP3fUAhlnvj0uqNnGwN9+gE1yBn5b0g17zxxnYGPu3W4849htBokzCWySG/BrOSbB23YMyDi7TZqH7TYDww0GNskHeLUwtkn+BWvJeSbN8+82gzxhLcxs0rxtNSAtIMZtBgOQFrwOY2Zjk5ZtO8DDJnHM3Ji37zaP4ZnEZkt83udnb38m+batTk6+v/nZY55vt+Xkjh8+eLMHjxYGSFwc5oHxeQjEChzUEaNoFIyCUTAKRioAAKnRQW1E/cIsAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9586-595X","institution":"University of Birmigham","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lei","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-10-11 15:27:26","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7836223/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7836223/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":93710091,"identity":"fda819e9-a0e2-486f-9b33-1063a43669b1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-10-16 17:42:12","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1122472,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"SITTMSv3.1biorxiv.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7836223/v1_covered_7277e843-44c0-4999-a8a4-95d55643f5aa.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e A causal role of the human temporoparietal junction in computing social influence during goal-directed learning\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"University of Birmingham","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7836223/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7836223/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe human temporoparietal junction (TPJ) is a brain area crucial for processing social information. 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