Balancing reward and work: Anticipatory brain activation in NAcc and VTA predict effort differentially

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Nils B. Kroemer - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Alvaro Guevara - , TUD Dresden University of Technology, University of Costa Rica (Author)
  • Iuliana Ciocanea Teodorescu - , University of Oxford, Leiden University (Author)
  • Franziska Wuttig - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Andrea Kobiella - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Michael N. Smolka - , Neuroimaging Center, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Author)

Abstract

Complex decision-making involves anticipation of future rewards to bias effort for obtaining it. Using fMRI, we investigated 50 participants employing an instrumental-motivation task that cued reinforcement levels before the onset of the motor-response phase. We extracted timecourses from regions of interest (ROI) in the mesocorticolimbic system and used a three-level hierarchical model to separate anticipatory brain responses predicting value and subsequent effort on a trial-by-trial basis. Whereas all ROIs scaled positively with value, higher effort was predicted by higher anticipatory activation in nucleus accumbens (NAcc) but lower activation in ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra (VTA/SN). Moreover, anticipatory activation in the dorsal striatum predicted average effort whereas higher activation in the amygdala predicted above-average effort. Thus, anticipatory activation entails the appetitive drive towards reinforcement that requires effort in order to be obtained. Our results support the role of NAcc as the main hub supported by the salience network operating on a trial-by-trial basis, while the dorsal striatum incorporates habitual responding.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)510-519
Number of pages10
JournalNeuroImage
Volume102
Issue numberP2
Publication statusPublished - 15 Nov 2014
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 25108181
ORCID /0000-0001-5398-5569/work/161890830

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • Effort discounting, FMRI, Instrumental motivation, Midbrain, Ventral striatum

Library keywords