An examination of the influence of prefrontal cortical brain stimulation on sexual decision making.

Overview

Authors: Michael T Shaw¹, Leah Cingranelli^1,2, Simona Kobryn¹, Isabella Tavarez¹, Alberto Torres-Aragón¹, Christina M Balderrama-Durbin¹, Brandon E Gibb¹, Leigh E Charvet³, Richard E Mattson¹

ORCID iDs: Michael T Shaw, Brandon E Gibb, Leigh E Charvet

Department of Psychology, Binghamton University, 4400 Vestal Parkway East, Binghamton, NY, 13902-6000, United States
Department of Psychology, University of Maine, College Avenue, Orono, ME, 04473, United States
Department of Neurology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, 550 1st Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, United States

Institutions: Binghamton University (United States); University of Maine (United States); NYU Langone Health (United States); New York University (United States)

Journal: Oxford open neuroscience, volume 5, article kvag003

Dates: received 4 February 2026; accepted 11 May 2026; published online 15 May 2026

Type: Research article · Language: English

License: CC BY

Identifiers: DOI 10.1093/oons/kvag003 · PMID 42232253 · PMCID PMC13225266 · OpenAlex W7161297958

Open access: gold, a free copy (OpenAlex)

Status: data only

Categories: other (modality), human (organism), cognitive (subfield)

Methods: Statistics

Keywords: dating violence, sexual aggression, decision making, neuroscience, transcranial direct current stimulation

Topic: Sexual function and dysfunction studies (Psychiatry and Mental health, Medicine), according to OpenAlex

Citations: not cited yet (Europe PMC); 59 references in the paper

Abstract

The goal of this study was to clarify the contribution of prefrontal cortex activity to men’s appraisals, affect states, and decision making in the context of hypothetical heterosexual dating scenarios lacking clear consent. Transcranial direct stimulation (tDCS) was applied to the prefrontal cortex to examine whether it would modify and reduce the likelihood of hypothetical dating violence. Participants (n = 102) responded to first-person vignettes wherein a woman responded either ambiguously or with a refusal to their sexual advance. While responding to the vignettes, participants received sham or active tDCS to modulate prefrontal cortex-mediated responding. Neuromodulation interacted with the communication response type of the woman in the vignette (e.g. ambiguous vs. refusal responses) to influence participants’ reports of negative affect (F = 9.57, P = 0.002, Cohen’s f2 = 0.02) and their sexual decision making (F = 5.06, P = 0.025, Cohen’s f2 = 0.003). For example, participants that received a refusal from a woman while receiving tDCS were more likely to report greater negative affect and a reduced likelihood of sexual behavior as compared with vignettes including an ambiguous response. These findings highlight the complex interplay of situational context on affect and social behavior while providing initial support for the utility of brain stimulation techniques in developing a mechanistic, neurocognitive understanding of the prefrontal cortex’s role in men's sexual decision making in dating scenarios.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Code

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Data

Datasets cited

osf:j2nre, at OSF; found in “Data availability”

Data availability

Data are available via the following link: https://osf.io/j2nre/.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Versions

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Version 1, 28 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, pages, dates, 9 authors, 5 keywords, 59 references.

Cite

This paper

Shaw, M. T., Cingranelli, L., Kobryn, S., Tavarez, I., Torres-Aragón, A., Balderrama-Durbin, C. M., Gibb, B. E., Charvet, L. E., & Mattson, R. E. (2026). An examination of the influence of prefrontal cortical brain stimulation on sexual decision making. Oxford open neuroscience, 5, kvag003. https://doi.org/10.1093/oons/kvag003

BibTeX

@article{shaw2026examination, author = {Shaw, Michael T and Cingranelli, Leah and Kobryn, Simona and Tavarez, Isabella and Torres-Aragón, Alberto and Balderrama-Durbin, Christina M and Gibb, Brandon E and Charvet, Leigh E and Mattson, Richard E}, title = {{An examination of the influence of prefrontal cortical brain stimulation on sexual decision making}}, journal = {Oxford open neuroscience}, year = {2026}, month = may, volume = {5}, pages = {kvag003}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, issn = {2753-149X}, doi = {10.1093/oons/kvag003}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/oons/kvag003}, pmid = {42232253}, pmcid = {PMC13225266} }

RIS

TY - JOUR AU - Shaw, Michael T AU - Cingranelli, Leah AU - Kobryn, Simona AU - Tavarez, Isabella AU - Torres-Aragón, Alberto AU - Balderrama-Durbin, Christina M AU - Gibb, Brandon E AU - Charvet, Leigh E AU - Mattson, Richard E TI - An examination of the influence of prefrontal cortical brain stimulation on sexual decision making T2 - Oxford open neuroscience J2 - Oxf Open Neurosci PY - 2026 DA - 2026/05/15 VL - 5 SP - kvag003 SN - 2753-149X PB - Oxford University Press DO - 10.1093/oons/kvag003 UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/oons/kvag003 LA - en ER -

CSL-JSON

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