Attention can be flexibly directed to different sources of information, which gives rise to distinct attentional states and frequent transitions between them. However, a comprehensive theoretical integration of attentional states within a unified transition space has been lacking. In this Perspective, we propose mapping attentional states along two orthogonal axes: a direction (external versus internal) axis and a goal-relevance (on-task versus off-task) axis. We envision three principles of the transition dynamics between states. First, an internal bias pulls attention towards internally generated or previously encoded information. Second, the subjective goal value of the current state is compared with the opportunity cost of not engaging in other states. Finally, in an intermediate off-focus state, the focus of attention is temporarily released to facilitate spontaneous transitions. Neuromodulatory influences — specifically, cholinergic for transitions along the direction axis and noradrenergic for transitions along the goal-relevance axis — refine the framework by restricting the transition possibilities. In sum, our framework integrates cognitive-psychological and neurobiological attention research and offers a blueprint for future work. Attention can be flexibly directed to information that is on- or off-task and internal or external to the individual. In this Perspective, Verschooren and colleagues bring together behavioural and neuromodulatory evidence to propose a unified space of attentional states and transitions between them.

Structural equation models (SEMs) with latent interactions are widely used in psychological research, but estimation becomes challenging when indicators are ordinal. Existing PLS-based methods cannot simultaneously handle ordinal measurement and latent interactions: traditional PLS ignores the ordinal scale, whereas OrdPLSc is not applicable to interaction models. We propose a general simulation-based bias-correction procedure based on stochastic root finding and apply it to develop Monte-Carlo Ordinal Consistent Partial Least Squares (MC-OrdPLSc). The method treats PLS as an inconsistent but informative estimator and iteratively simulates data from candidate parameters, matching the resulting PLS estimates to those obtained from the observed data. This approach corrects both attenuation in reflective constructs and bias from treating ordinal indicators as continuous. A Monte Carlo study shows that MC-OrdPLSc yields approximately unbiased estimates of main and interaction effects and achieves efficiency comparable to LMS-CAT, providing a practical approach for ordinal interaction models in PLS-SEM.

QuestionDo 10 once-daily sessions of intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex improve depressive symptoms more than sham iTBS?FindingsIn this randomized, double-blind, clinical trial of 73 adults with major depressive disorder, iTBS was superior to sham, with significantly greater reductions in clinician-rated depressive symptoms after 5 and 10 sessions; however, between-group differences were not sustained at the 4-week follow-up, as the sham group showed continued improvement.MeaningThese findings suggest that 10 once-daily iTBS sessions improve depressive symptoms more than sham in the short term, with no sustained advantage after 4 weeks. ImportanceIntermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) is an established treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD), but sham-controlled evidence for once-daily protocols remains limited.ObjectiveTo determine whether 10 sessions of once-daily iTBS is superior to sham iTBS for adults with MDD.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis randomized clinical trial was conducted at an outpatient psychiatric clinic in North Norway between January 1, 2022, and June 30, 2025, among 73 patients with MDD, aged 22 to 65 years, with a Montogomery-& Aring;sberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score of 20 or more, regardless of treatment refractoriness level. Statistical analyses were completed in October 2025.InterventionParticipants were randomized to 10 weekday sessions of once-daily iTBS (600 pulses at 120% of the resting motor threshold) or sham stimulation delivered with a validated sham coil to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. A 4-week follow-up evaluated sustained effects.Main Outcomes and MeasuresMain outcomes were between-group differences in depression scores on day 10, measured with the clinician-rated MADRS and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Secondary outcomes included MADRS scores on day 5, MADRS and BDI-II scores at follow-up, and response and remission rates on day 10. Repeated depression measures were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models in a modified intention-to-treat sample. Adverse events were assessed daily and compared between groups.ResultsSeventy-three participants (mean [SD] age, 36.1 [10.6] years, 40 female [54.8%]) completed the study: 41 were randomized to active iTBS and 32 to sham. iTBS was superior to sham on day 10 for MADRS scores (mean difference, 3.57 [95% CI, 0.79-6.35]; Hedges g = 0.61; P = .01), but not for BDI-II scores (mean difference, 3.05 [95% CI, -2.72 to 8.82]; P = .30). iTBS was also superior to sham on day 5 for MADRS scores (mean difference, 2.89 [95% CI, 0.13-5.64]; Hedges g = 0.50; P = .04) but not significant at follow-up due to improvement in the sham group. Treatments were well tolerated, with mild and transient adverse events.Conclusions and RelevanceIn this randomized clinical trial of adults with MDD, a fixed 10-session schedule of once-daily iTBS resulted in greater reductions in clinician-rated depressive symptoms than sham during the treatment phase. The group difference was not sustained at the 4-week follow-up. These findings highlight the importance of treatment duration and extended follow-up in interpreting clinical response.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05516095 This randomized clinical trial assesses whether 10 sessions of once-daily intermittent theta-burst stimulation improve depressive symptoms more than sham among adults with major depressive disorder.

Insufficient sleep is a common occurrence in modern society and has severe consequences for our attention, executive functioning (EF), and affect. Mind wandering (MW) is a phenomenon where attention shifts from an external task to internal thoughts. These shifts can take on different characteristics, such as relating to specific mental content or not (mind blanking, MB), and can be engaged deliberately (D-MW) or spontaneously (S-MW). MW is related to impaired EF and worsened emotional states, yet it is unclear how these associations are influenced by sleep loss. We recruited 34 healthy adults to a partial sleep deprivation (PSD) protocol, where they slept on average 1.7 hours less, compared to a period of normal sleep (NS), for 3 consecutive nights. Participants engaged in the finger-tapping random sequence generation task that provided two objective measures of EF performance, the variability in the responses and the entropy of the generated sequences. We assessed participants’ momentary affect before and after the task, while subjective reports of attentional states (on-task, MW, MB, and S/D-MW) were assessed during the task. Results indicated that greater sleep loss resulted in more MW, MB, behavioural variability and negative affect, and reduced positive affect. Furthermore, MW episodes were preceded by reduced EF performance only following the PSD, but not after NS. Finally, we found that pre-task positive affect may ameliorate the unfavourable effects of sleep loss on objective and subjective measures of MW. These findings highlight the importance of sufficient sleep in maintaining sustained attention, optimal task performance, and good mood.

Importance:Intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) is an established treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD), but sham-controlled evidence for once-daily protocols remains limited. Objective:To determine whether 10 sessions of once-daily iTBS is superior to sham iTBS for adults with MDD. Design, Setting, and Participants:This randomized clinical trial was conducted at an outpatient psychiatric clinic in North Norway between January 1, 2022, and June 30, 2025, among 73 patients with MDD, aged 22 to 65 years, with a Montogomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score of 20 or more, regardless of treatment refractoriness level. Statistical analyses were completed in October 2025. Intervention:Participants were randomized to 10 weekday sessions of once-daily iTBS (600 pulses at 120% of the resting motor threshold) or sham stimulation delivered with a validated sham coil to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. A 4-week follow-up evaluated sustained effects. Main Outcomes and Measures:Main outcomes were between-group differences in depression scores on day 10, measured with the clinician-rated MADRS and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Secondary outcomes included MADRS scores on day 5, MADRS and BDI-II scores at follow-up, and response and remission rates on day 10. Repeated depression measures were analyzed using linear mixed-effects models in a modified intention-to-treat sample. Adverse events were assessed daily and compared between groups. Results:Seventy-three participants (mean [SD] age, 36.1 [10.6] years, 40 female [54.8%]) completed the study: 41 were randomized to active iTBS and 32 to sham. iTBS was superior to sham on day 10 for MADRS scores (mean difference, 3.57 [95% CI, 0.79-6.35]; Hedges g = 0.61; P = .01), but not for BDI-II scores (mean difference, 3.05 [95% CI, -2.72 to 8.82]; P = .30). iTBS was also superior to sham on day 5 for MADRS scores (mean difference, 2.89 [95% CI, 0.13-5.64]; Hedges g = 0.50; P = .04) but not significant at follow-up due to improvement in the sham group. Treatments were well tolerated, with mild and transient adverse events. Conclusions and Relevance:In this randomized clinical trial of adults with MDD, a fixed 10-session schedule of once-daily iTBS resulted in greater reductions in clinician-rated depressive symptoms than sham during the treatment phase. The group difference was not sustained at the 4-week follow-up. These findings highlight the importance of treatment duration and extended follow-up in interpreting clinical response. Trial Registration:ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05516095.

Mind wandering (MW) is a common mental phenomenon where attention shifts spontaneously from an external task to internal trains of thought. Recent studies propose that non-invasive brain stimulation methods hold potential for influencing attentional shifts between on-task and MW states. Exploratory analysis from a recent repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) study reported that targeting the left angular gyrus (AG) with inhibitory continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) reduced MW compared to sham stimulation, without affecting executive performance (Drevland et al., 2024). The present study is a pre-registered, direct replication of the study by Drevland et al., but also expands their protocol by applying excitatory intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) targeting the same cortical area. Using a triple-blind crossover design, healthy participants completed four blocks of the Finger-Tapping Random Sequence Generation Task (FT-RSGT) in three sessions on separate days. Each session included three rounds of either real (cTBS or iTBS) or sham stimulation in an accelerated rTMS design. We successfully replicated the effect of cTBS in reducing MW propensity but failed to find the expected increase in MW post-iTBS stimulation. Furthermore, based on a joint analysis of the current data and that from Drevland et al., we found compelling evidence for cTBS being efficient both in reducing MW and improving executive performance. Our results provide evidence for the causal relationship between the left AG and shifts of attention during an executive task, highlighting the role of the default mode network in the generation and maintenance of MW episodes.

Existing studies on mate value discrepancy and relationship satisfaction often suffer from two key limitations: they conceptualize mate value as a single, undifferentiated construct and rely on simple difference scores to model discrepancy effects. The present study addresses these issues by examining the relationship between mate value discrepancy and relationship satisfaction using a multidimensional operationalization of mate value and applying response surface analysis. Data were collected in 2016 in Norway via a web-based survey administered by a market research company, with a sample stratified across the country’s 19 counties. The final estimation sample included 904 individuals currently in romantic relationships. The analysis involved a combination of confirmatory factor analysis and response surface analysis. The findings indicate that relationship satisfaction is highest when both partners exhibit high levels of Family orientation, resourcefulness, appearance, sociability, and physical condition. Among these, family orientation emerged as the most important dimension. Notably, relationship satisfaction declined when both partners scored equally low on these traits. Implications for future research and theoretical implications are discussed.

The human pupil is a widely used physiological metric in psychology and neuroscience. Changes in pupil diameter (PD) are thought to reflect changes in locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC/NE) activity, which is associated with cognitive and behavioral optimization. Here, we present a novel algorithm to decompose the pupil signal into its tonic and phasic components. We evaluate the utility and validity of the algorithms using both artificially generated data and an existing dataset from a fast-paced finger-tapping task. Results show that the novel algorithm outperforms traditional approaches on simulated data. We further demonstrate that our algorithm provides more conclusive evidence for relationships between mind wandering reports and pupil predictors compared to traditional window-averaging. Finally, we demonstrate that the novel and traditional estimates contain distinct information regarding neuroimaging correlates and task performance.

This study investigated the influence of contextual factors on mind wandering (MW) by leveraging an online platform for an established laboratory task. We investigated how direct performance feedback, information about task progression, and the feeling of being monitored influenced performance indices in a task used to investigate the effect of MW on executive control. Our results indicate that specific performance feedback, and not general positive feedback, consistently improved performance, while neither impacted self-reported MW. Conversely, feedback on task progression and the feeling of being monitored increased self-reported MW, possibly reflecting participant self-awareness due to contextual distractions. Intriguingly, information relaying task progression also substantially increased performance. These findings highlight the potential of performance feedback to reduce the negative effects of MW on task performance in an online setting. Additionally, the findings suggest that information about task progression, as well as the notion of being monitored during the experiment can influence task focus and should be taken into consideration when investigating fluctuations of attention during cognitive tasks.

The human brain spends 30-50% of its waking hours engaged in mind-wandering (MW), a common phenomenon in which individuals either spontaneously or deliberately shift their attention away from external tasks to task-unrelated internal thoughts. Despite the significant amount of time dedicated to MW, its underlying reasons remain unexplained. Our pre-registered study investigates the potential adaptive aspects of MW, particularly its role in predictive processes measured by statistical learning. We simultaneously assessed visuomotor task performance as well as the capability to extract probabilistic information from the environment while assessing task focus (on-task vs. MW). We found that MW was associated with enhanced extraction of hidden, but predictable patterns. This finding suggests that MW may have functional relevance in human cognition by shaping behavior and predictive processes. Overall, our results highlight the importance of considering the adaptive aspects of MW, and its potential to enhance certain fundamental cognitive abilities.

The feedback-related negativity (FRN) has been associated both with the cortical processing of reward and salience prediction errors (RPEs/SPEs), and with behavioral adjustments that optimize performance. While the FRN is sensitive to response-feedback contingencies, it remains to be explored how this waveform is influenced by random outcomes during reinforcement learning (RL) while participants develop an illusion of control (IoC). We present novel analyses of data from a previous study (Csifcsák et al., 2020), in which a group of healthy adults was intermittently exposed to compromised control over outcomes ("yoking"). Earlier, we reported effects of yoking on latent parameters of RL and oscillatory activity during decision-making, whereas now we analyzed whether the FRN was also sensitive to our controllability manipulation. Participants were randomized to "control" or "yoked" groups, differing only in their level of control over outcomes during an RL task. The FRN was analyzed both in terms of its valence-sensitivity and with respect to its association with single-trial RPEs/SPEs. Bayesian statistics confirmed comparable ratings of perceived control in the two groups, indicating IoC for yoked participants. Although response accuracy was at chance level during compromised outcome controllability, the FRN was statistically indistinguishable between the two groups, as revealed by a multitude of analytical approaches. We conclude that under IoC, the FRN is not sensitive to response-outcome contingencies, and thus, it does not reflect drops in performance. These findings suggest that the cortical analysis of outcomes is dominated by higher-order cognitive/affective states when predictions about future events are unreliable.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a versatile non-invasive tool for brain mapping and neuromodulation in both healthy individuals and patients. Effective TMS-based causal brain mapping relies on precise localization of cortical targets. Current state-of-the-art approaches use statistical methods to quantify the relationship between TMS-induced electric fields (E-fields) and motor evoked potential (MEP) amplitudes. However, this method typically relies on the random selection of coil configurations, which limits its efficacy. In this study, we present a novel optimization strategy for TMS-based motor mapping by prospectively selecting coil configurations based on their E-field characteristics using an iterative sampling algorithm called farthest point sampling (FPS). Through a combination of theoretical analysis, simulation and experimental validation, including 10 healthy individuals, we systematically evaluated the performance of FPS against the random sampling approach. Our results demonstrate that FPS (median: 49.5 trials) is twice as sample-efficient as random sampling (median: 91.0 trials) in reducing the number of trials required to estimate the motor map. Moreover, FPS shows greater consistency across participants, as reflected in the narrower confidence intervals. These findings highlight the potential of FPS to significantly enhance the sample-efficiency of motor mapping, paving the way for the development of more effective TMS mapping algorithms.

Pain negatively affects several cognitive abilities, but knowledge about its effect on reinforcement learning (RL) is limited. During RL, instrumental choices can be influenced by heuristic tendencies to approach rewards or inhibit actions when facing potentially aversive events, introducing “Pavlovian bias” in behavior. Recent studies suggest that compromised outcome controllability enhances Pavlovian bias, a phenomenon that may be linked to suboptimal decision-making in learned helplessness (LH). Since LH is common in chronic pain syndromes, this study sought to establish a link between experimental heat pain (EHP), uncontrollable reward/loss and RL performance in healthy adults. In addition, we investigated if intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) targeting the medial prefrontal/dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (mPFC/dACC) alleviates the deleterious effects of EHP on choice behavior. In a pre-registered, 2x2 between-group, double-blind study (N = 100), healthy adult participants underwent 3 blocks of an orthogonalized Go/NoGo task with two interleaved bouts of active or sham iTBS, and either EHP or warm skin stimulation combined with compromised outcome controllability during the task. Although EHP did not impact overall performance, it invigorated actions for rewards, reflecting enhanced Pavlovian bias. While two bouts of iTBS attenuated Pavlovian tendencies, this effect was counteracted by EHP, indicating antagonistic effects of pain and iTBS-modulated mPFC activity on Pavlovian-instrumental interactions. Surprisingly, EHP and iTBS exerted largely similar effects on other latent parameters of RL (go-bias, learning rate, exploration) in a manner that resembled LH. These findings shed light on the role of experimental pain and mPFC/dACC activity in LH-like choice behavior.

Mind wandering (MW) involves an attentional drift away from an external task to internal thoughts and goals. In the last decade, a substantial number of studies have investigated the possibility of influencing MW using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). However, the accumulated evidence suggests that tDCS may not be sufficiently strong to reliably affect MW propensity. Therefore, we applied repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) with an inhibitory continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) protocol targeting the left angular gyrus (AG) to interfere with MW propensity in healthy adults. Since the AG is a core region of the default-mode network (DMN), which is believed to play a major role in the initiation and maintenance of MW episodes, we hypothesized that cTBS would reduce MW during a demanding cognitive task. In a triple-blind, crossover design, participants performed four blocks of the finger-tapping random-sequence generation task (FT-RSGT) with three interleaved bouts of real or sham cTBS. We found that real cTBS reduced both self-reported MW propensity and behavioural variability, an objective marker of MW, while maintaining comparable levels of executive task performance. These results indicate that cTBS targeting the DMN may be an effective protocol to reduce MW, which may have important implications for basic and applied research.

To achieve a comprehensive understanding of spontaneous brain dynamics in humans, in vivo acquisition of intrinsic activity across both cortical and subcortical regions is necessary. Here we present advanced whole-brain, resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data acquired at 7 Tesla with 1.5 mm isotropic voxel resolution. Functional images were obtained from 56 healthy adults (33 females, ages 19–39 years) in two runs of 15 min eyes-open wakeful rest. The high spatial resolution and short echo times of the multiband echo-planar imaging (EPI) protocol optimizes blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD)-sensitivity for the subcortex while concurrent respiratory and cardiac measures enable retrospective correction of physiological noise, resulting in data that is highly suitable for researchers interested in subcortical BOLD signal. Functional timeseries were coregistered to high-resolution T1-weighted structural data (0.75 mm isotropic voxels) acquired during the same scanning session. To accommodate data reutilization, functional and structural images were formatted to the Brain Imaging Data Structure (BIDS) and preprocessed with fMRIPrep.

The estimation of interaction and quadratic effects in Structural Equation Models (SEMs) is acomplex task in psychometrics. Latent product term (LPT) models, initially developed forinteraction effects between latent variables, are also used to model quadratic effects. Despite over30 years of research, no consensus has emerged on the best method for modeling interactions inSEMs, partly due to efforts to simplify existing approaches for broader accessibility. LPT modelsare categorized into Product Indicator (PI) and Distribution Analytic (DA) approaches. PImethods are conceptually simple but often sacrifice accuracy due to necessary simplifications,making them error-prone and difficult to implement manually. In contrast, DA methods, such asLatent Moderated Structural Equations (LMS) and Quasi Maximum Likelihood (QML), providemore accurate estimates in simulations but are computationally intensive and less accessible dueto limited implementations. We introduce modsem, an R package that simplifies the estimation ofinteraction and quadratic effects in SEMs. modsem supports various methods, including PI, LMS,and QML, and extends them to models with multiple endogenous variables. It integratesseamlessly with the popular lavaan syntax, enhancing accessibility for researchers. Wedemonstrate modsem’s utility with applications to the Theory of Planned Behaviour and PISA2006 data, highlighting its effectiveness in estimating complex models. Future work will focus onvalidating and refining LMS and QML approaches, and exploring alternative methods likeBayesian and Structural After Measurement (SAM) approaches.

Mediation analysis is one of the most widely used techniques in the social and behavioral sciences. Conducting mediation analysis manually is prone to errors, highlighting the need for accessible and flexible software tools. The open-source and free software R offers many excellent software packages, most of which support mediation analysis with only observed variables. To address this limitation, we have developed an R package, `rmedsem`, which estimates mediational hypotheses with both observed and latent variables. `rmedsem` is the only software implementing mediation analyses within the frameworks of covariance-based SEM, partial least squares SEM, and Bayesian SEM. The package extracts the necessary coefficients from an estimated SEM model (using `lavaan`, `cSEM`, or `blavaan`) specified with the well-known `lavaan` syntax. It then follows a decision tree based on the approaches by Baron and Kenny (1986), and Zhao et al. (2010), to determine the presence and type of mediation. `rmedsem` also implements conditional mediation effects also known as mediated moderation and moderated mediation.

Mind wandering (MW) is the intentional or unintentional experience of attending to internal task-unrelated thoughts while being occupied with an external task. Even though maintaining task focus is assumed to require executive functions (EF), it is not clear how and to what extent MW and EF interact. Research has found that activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is associated with EF and MW. To understand the causal role of the DLPFC in relation to MW and EF, researchers have turned to non-invasive brain stimulation. Thus far, most studies have used transcranial direct current stimulation, but the results have been inconclusive. To further elucidate the relationship between the DLPFC, EF and MW, we conducted a pre-registered, sham-controlled, triple-blinded within-subject experiment by combining intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) interleaved with a recently developed MW-EF task. In contrast to our expectations, participants reported significantly more MW following real iTBS as compared to sham stimulation. However, at the same time, psychomotor precision and EF improved, indicating that participants were able to engage in resource-intensive MW while simultaneously performing well on the task. We argue that iTBS enhanced the underlying executive resources that could be used to increase both MW and task performance in line with the resource-control view of MW. This finding opens exciting avenues for studying the complex interplay between MW and EF and provides empirical support for the utility of iTBS in improving executive performance during a demanding cognitive task.

Choosing a romantic partner for a long-term relationship is one of the most significant decisions one makes during our lifetime. We have inherited an evolved framework from our ancestors that contains traits, as well as preferences for these traits, to solve this task. We use this framework consciously or unconsciously to choose prospective romantic partners. Following this reasoning, sexual strategy theory (SST) has been proposed for predicting which traits women and men prefer in a romantic partner for a long-term relationship. These predictions were empirically tested in the current work based on a sample of 1193 Norwegian adolescents who responded to an online questionnaire. We implemented the study hypotheses, derived from SST, in three statistical models, which were tested using structural equation modeling. In brief, our results revealed that women only valued resources more than men when we controlled for materialistic traits. This finding contrasts with SST’s prediction that women would value resources more than men, independently of other variables. As for the second prediction that men value physical attractiveness more than women, this pattern existed universally and was independent of, for instance, how egalitarian they were. We thus conclude that SST was only partially supported and that variables that may reflect societal circumstances (e.g., wealth, gender, equality) should be considered when examining the mate choice behavior of women and men. The theoretical and practical implications of the study are also discussed.

Mind wandering (MW) is a heterogeneous construct involving task-unrelated thoughts. Recently, the interest in modulating MW propensity via non-invasive brain stimulation techniques has increased. Single-session transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in healthy controls has led to mixed results in modulating MW propensity, possibly due to methodological heterogeneity. Therefore, our aim was to conduct a systematic meta-analysis to examine the influence of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) and right inferior parietal lobule (rIPL) targeted tDCS on MW propensity. Importantly, by computational modeling of tDCS-induced electric fields, we accounted for differences in tDCS-dose across studies that varied strongly in their applied methodology. Fifteen single-session, sham-controlled tDCS studies published until October 2021 were included. All studies involved healthy adult participants and used cognitive tasks combined with MW thought-probes. Heterogeneity in tDCS electrode placement, stimulation polarity and intensity were controlled for by means of electric field simulations, while overall methodological quality was assessed via an extended risk of bias (RoB) assessment. We found that RoB was the strongest predictor of study outcomes. Moreover, the rIPL was the most promising cortical area for influencing MW, with stronger anodal electric fields in this region being negatively associated with MW propensity. Electric field strength in the lDLPFC was not related to MW propensity. We identified several severe methodological problems that could have contributed to overestimated effect sizes in this literature, an issue that needs urgent attention in future research in this area. Overall, there is no reliable evidence for tDCS influencing MW in the healthy. However, the analysis also revealed that increasing neural excitability in the rIPL via tDCS might be associated with reduced MW propensity. In an exploratory approach, we also found some indication that targeting prefrontal regions outside the lDLPFC with tDCS could lead to increased MW propensity.