title: Motivated cognitive control: reward incentives modulate preparatory neural activity during task-switching.
abstract: It is increasingly appreciated that executive control processes need to be understood in terms of motivational as well as cognitive mechanisms. The current study examined the impact of performance-contingent reward incentives (monetary bonuses) on neural activity dynamics during cued task-switching performance. Behavioral measures indicated that performance was improved and task-switch costs selectively reduced on incentive trials. Trial-by-trial fluctuations in incentive value were associated with activation in reward-related brain regions (dopaminergic midbrain, paracingulate cortex) and also modulated the dynamics of switch-selective activation in the brain cognitive control network. Within lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC), both additive (inferior frontal junction) and interactive [dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC)] incentive effects were observed. In DLPFC, incentive modulation of activation predicted task-switching behavioral performance, but with hemispherically dissociable effects. Furthermore, in left DLPFC, incentive modulation specifically enhanced task-cue-related activation, and this activation in turn predicted that the trial would be subsequently rewarded (because of optimal performance). The results suggest that motivational incentives have a selective effect on brain regions that subserve cognitive control processes during task-switching and, moreover, that one mechanism of effect might be the enhancement of cue-related task preparation within left DLPFC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63139, USA. acsavine@artsci.wustl.edu
authors.forename: Adam C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Savine
authors.forename: Todd S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Braver
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012201:Reward