{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T17:54:48Z","timestamp":1791568488244,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791504000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Experience-based decision making requires individuals to balance exploration and exploitation under uncertainty, a balance that may be influenced by cognitive demands and prefrontal neuromodulation. We examined the joint effects of trivia-based cognitive load and anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in 60 healthy adults. The primary 2\u2009\u00d7\u20092 between-subjects design crossed Stimulation (anodal tDCS vs sham) with Cognitive-Load Condition (Trivia-Based Load vs No-Trivia Control). Within the Trivia-Based Load subgroup, Lower-Load and Higher-Load Trivia were presented across trials for a secondary trial-level analysis. Participants completed 50 decisions involving a safe choice, a probabilistic high-reward choice, and a costly information-seeking choice. Primary analyses showed that Trivia-Based Load slowed responses and reduced risky choice. Anodal tDCS increased risky choice, information seeking, and alternation between choice types, but did not significantly affect reaction time. Stimulation\u2009\u00d7\u2009Cognitive-Load Condition interactions were significant for information seeking and alternation, reflecting different load-related patterns under anodal tDCS and sham, whereas interactions were not significant for reaction time or risky choice. Secondary analyses indicated longer decision times following Higher-Load than Lower-Load Trivia, without corresponding trial-level load effects on the choice outcomes. These findings show that cognitive load and anodal DLPFC tDCS have outcome-specific joint effects on experience-based decision making, including both additive and context-dependent patterns.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0360059","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T17:26:25Z","timestamp":1791566785000},"page":"e0360059","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Cognitive load and prefrontal neuromodulation shape exploration, risk-taking, and information seeking in experience-based decision making"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Ankit","family":"Singh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Institute of Technology Mandi","place":["Mandi, India"],"department":["Applied Cognitive Science Laboratory"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2151-8314","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Varun","family":"Dutt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Indian Institute of Technology Mandi","place":["Mandi, India"],"department":["Applied Cognitive Science Laboratory"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4025-1042","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Akash K.","family":"Rao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education","place":["Manipal, India"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]]},"reference":[{"issue":"7095","key":"pone.0360059.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"876","DOI":"10.1038\/nature04766","article-title":"Cortical substrates for exploratory decisions in humans","volume":"441","author":"ND Daw","year":"2006","journal-title":"Nature"},{"issue":"1481","key":"pone.0360059.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"933","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2007.2098","article-title":"Should I stay or should I go? 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