Can a pulse of electricity to the brain make us less selfish?

Scientists have found a way to temporarily reduce selfishness in people by applying a brief electrical pulse to specific areas of the brain. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, involved stimulating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the temporoparietal junction, regions associated with social cognition and decision-making. The researchers conducted experiments where participants were asked to make decisions that involved trading off their own interests against those of others. They found that applying a weak electrical current to the targeted brain regions made people more likely to make decisions that benefited others rather than themselves. However, the effects were short-lived, lasting only for the duration of the brain stimulation. The findings suggest that it may be possible to temporarily influence social behavior by directly targeting specific neural mechanisms, but further research is needed to understand the long-term implications and potential applications of this approach.