TY - JOUR
T1 - Diminished neural responses predict enhanced intrinsic motivation and sensitivity to external incentive
AU - Marsden, Karen E.
AU - Ma, Wei Ji
AU - Deci, Edward L.
AU - Ryan, Richard M.
AU - Chiu, Pearl H.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was partially supported by the National Institutes of Health (Grant Nos. MH091872 and MH087692 to P.C.). The authors gratefully acknowledge discussions with Brooks King-Casas, George Christopoulos, Jenny Lu, Stephen LaConte, Read Montague, and the technical assistance of LaRaun Lindsey, Nina Lauharatanahirun, and Katie McCurry. The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014, The Author(s).
PY - 2015/6/22
Y1 - 2015/6/22
N2 - The duration and quality of human performance depend on both intrinsic motivation and external incentives. However, little is known about the neuroscientific basis of this interplay between internal and external motivators. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural substrates of intrinsic motivation, operationalized as the free-choice time spent on a task when this was not required, and tested the neural and behavioral effects of external reward on intrinsic motivation. We found that increased duration of free-choice time was predicted by generally diminished neural responses in regions associated with cognitive and affective regulation. By comparison, the possibility of additional reward improved task accuracy, and specifically increased neural and behavioral responses following errors. Those individuals with the smallest neural responses associated with intrinsic motivation exhibited the greatest error-related neural enhancement under the external contingency of possible reward. Together, these data suggest that human performance is guided by a “tonic” and “phasic” relationship between the neural substrates of intrinsic motivation (tonic) and the impact of external incentives (phasic).
AB - The duration and quality of human performance depend on both intrinsic motivation and external incentives. However, little is known about the neuroscientific basis of this interplay between internal and external motivators. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural substrates of intrinsic motivation, operationalized as the free-choice time spent on a task when this was not required, and tested the neural and behavioral effects of external reward on intrinsic motivation. We found that increased duration of free-choice time was predicted by generally diminished neural responses in regions associated with cognitive and affective regulation. By comparison, the possibility of additional reward improved task accuracy, and specifically increased neural and behavioral responses following errors. Those individuals with the smallest neural responses associated with intrinsic motivation exhibited the greatest error-related neural enhancement under the external contingency of possible reward. Together, these data suggest that human performance is guided by a “tonic” and “phasic” relationship between the neural substrates of intrinsic motivation (tonic) and the impact of external incentives (phasic).
KW - Behavioral performance
KW - Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
KW - Internal and external incentives
KW - Intrinsic motivation
KW - Neural substrates
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84939939082&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3758/s13415-014-0324-5
DO - 10.3758/s13415-014-0324-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 25348668
AN - SCOPUS:84939939082
SN - 1530-7026
VL - 15
SP - 276
EP - 286
JO - Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience
JF - Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience
IS - 2
M1 - 2
ER -