Modulating prefrontal control in humans reveals distinct pathways to competitive success and collective waste

Competitive decision making may require controlling and calculative mind-sets. We examined this possibility in repeated predator–prey contests by up- or down-regulating the individual’s right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), a brain region involved in impulse inhibition and mentalizing. Following brain stimulation, subjects invested as predator or prey against a non-treated antagonist. Relative to sham-treatment (i) prey-defense was relatively...