Targeting the prefrontal-supplementary motor network with online and offline tDCS to modulate disgust: A single-blind and sham-controlled study

Targeting the prefrontal-supplementary motor network with online and offline tDCS to modulate disgust: A single-blind and sham-controlled study | 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 Research Article Targeting the prefrontal-supplementary motor network with online and offline tDCS to modulate disgust: A single-blind and sham-controlled study Parastoo Soltani, Zekrollah Morovatiati, Majid Yousefi afrashteh, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6063515/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 In certain individuals, disgust experience is abnormally high. This heightened sensitivity serves as a cognitive component that can lead to dysfunction in neural circuits related to emotion processing and psychological disorders such as contamination-based obsessive-compulsive disorder. In this single-blind study, 36 individuals with high disgust sensitivity were randomly assigned to three groups: online, offline, and sham. The online group received intensified and repetitive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) while performing a disgust image watching task, whereas the offline and sham group received the tDC stimulation prior and after the same task, additionally the sham group received placebo tDC stimulation. Anodal and cathodal stimulation was applied to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (l-DLPFC; F3) and pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA; FC2), respectively. The intervention consisted of 10 sessions of tDCS (2 sessions per day) over 5 days, with a stimulation intensity of 2 mA for 20 minutes and a 20-minute interval between sessions. The results showed a significant decrease in disgust experience in the online group compared to the offline group, while there was no significant difference between the online and sham groups. Although these findings suggest potential effects of tDCS combined with a task, further studies are necessary to confirm its efficacy. disgust sensitivity tDCS prefrontal-supplementary motor network 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. 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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-6063515","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":417983864,"identity":"314156a0-1296-4722-b264-63485c22179c","order_by":0,"name":"Parastoo Soltani","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Parastoo","middleName":"","lastName":"Soltani","suffix":""},{"id":417984584,"identity":"5f9ee95f-5217-47b3-aefe-0c0ba67cd7f7","order_by":1,"name":"Zekrollah Morovatiati","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zekrollah","middleName":"","lastName":"Morovatiati","suffix":""},{"id":417984585,"identity":"747cd59c-3825-49e3-a621-51f28d3477c2","order_by":2,"name":"Majid Yousefi afrashteh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Majid","middleName":"Yousefi","lastName":"afrashteh","suffix":""},{"id":417984586,"identity":"3717e762-064f-4c16-b7a9-8ecf4136a67e","order_by":3,"name":"Jakob Fink-Lamotte","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jakob","middleName":"","lastName":"Fink-Lamotte","suffix":""},{"id":417984587,"identity":"4f22e3b6-c015-46d8-8e70-b3f02e47dbf7","order_by":4,"name":"Jaber Alizadehgoradel","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA5ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYGxgMJIFqC+QBCjIAWBqgWtgTitIDAAbAyCR4D4hzG3MD84MCDP3ay/dI9nz8XtjHI8zcwt33A7zA2gwMJPMnGM+ec3WA8s43BcMYBxuYZ+LUwALVIMCduuJG7IZm3jYFxAwNjM16HMTawfziQYFCfuP9GzoPDQC32RGjhAdqScDhxg0QOYzNQSyJhLc08BQcSDhw3nnEjzZiZ55xE8ozDBLQYtrdvfPjjT7Vs/4zkx595ymxs+9vbH+PXgmaiBDDc8WpgYJAnID8KRsEoGAWjgIEBAKkgSeEcPBiAAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jaber","middleName":"","lastName":"Alizadehgoradel","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-02-19 11:10:49","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-6063515/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6063515/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":76728965,"identity":"2211841c-ca2a-47d9-928d-66c3a2096306","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-02-20 06:07:57","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":458093,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscriptdisgustsensitivitytDCSfinal.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6063515/v1_covered_e59d5ad6-7808-472e-8524-d0071e256132.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eTargeting the prefrontal-supplementary motor network with online and offline tDCS to modulate disgust: A single-blind and sham-controlled study\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","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":"disgust sensitivity, tDCS, prefrontal-supplementary motor network","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6063515/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6063515/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eIn certain individuals, disgust experience is abnormally high. 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