Oh it's me again: Déjà vu, the brain, and self-awareness.

Déjà vu and involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) are differentiated by a number of factors including metacognition. In contrast to IAMs, déjà vu activates regions associated with self-awareness including the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Excitatory Dorsal Lateral Prefrontal Cortex Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Increases Social Anxiety.

Social exclusion refers to the experience of rejection by one or more people during a social event and can induce pain-related sensations. Cyberball, a computer program, is one of the most common tools for analyzing social exclusion. Regions of the brain that underlie social pain include networks linked to the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Specifically, self-directed negative socially induced exclusion is associated with changes in DLPFC activity. Direct manipulation of this area may provide a better understanding of how the DLPFC can influence the perception of social exclusion and determine a causal role of the DLPFC. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied to both the left and right DLPFC to gauge different reactions to the Cyberball experience. It was found that there were elevated exclusion indices following right DLPFC rTMS; participants consistently felt more excluded when the right DLPFC was excited. This may relate to greater feelings of social pain when the right DLPFC is manipulated. These data demonstrate that direct manipulation of the DLPFC results in changes in responses to social exclusion.

Employing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in a Resource Limited Environment to Establish Brain-Behavior Relationships.

Neuroimaging is typically perceived as a resource demanding discipline. While this is the case in certain circumstances, institutions with limited resources have historically contributed significantly to the field of neuroscience, including neuroimaging. In the study of self-deception, we have successfully employed single-pulse TMS to determine the brain correlates of abilities including overclaiming and self-enhancement. Even without the use of neuro-navigation, methods provided here lead to successful outcomes. For example, it was discovered that decreases in self-deceptive responding lead to a decrease in affect. These methods provide data that are reliable and valid, and such methods provide research opportunities otherwise unavailable. Through the use of these methods, the overall knowledge base in the field of neuroscience is expanded, providing research opportunities to students such as those at our institution (Montclair State University is a Hispanic-Serving Institute) who are often denied such research experiences.