title: Brain correlates of the intrinsic subjective cost of effort in sedentary volunteers.
abstract: One key aspect of motivation is the ability of agents to overcome excessive weighting of intrinsic subjective costs. This contribution aims to analyze the subjective cost of effort and assess its neural correlates in sedentary volunteers. We recruited a sample of 57 subjects who underwent a decision-making task using a prospective, moderate, and sustained physical effort as devaluating factor. Effort discounting followed a hyperbolic function, and individual discounting constants correlated with an indicator of sedentary lifestyle (global physical activity questionnaire; R=-0.302, P=0.033). A subsample of 24 sedentary volunteers received a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan while performing a similar effort-discounting task. BOLD signal of a cluster located in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex correlated with the subjective value of the pair of options under consideration (Z>2.3, P<0.05; cluster corrected for multiple comparisons for the whole brain). Furthermore, effort-related discounting of reward correlated with the signal of a cluster in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (Z>2.3, P<0.05; small volume cluster corrected for a region of interest including the ventral prefrontal cortex and striatum). This study offers empirical data about the intrinsic subjective cost of effort and its neural correlates in sedentary individuals.
authors.affiliation: Mind-Brain Group (Institute for Culture and Society, ICS), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain. Electronic address: jbernacer@unav.es.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bernacer
authors.affiliation: Mind-Brain Group (Institute for Culture and Society, ICS), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martinez-Valbuena
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: Clínica Universidad de Navarra, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pujol
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Laboratory, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Luis
authors.affiliation: Mind-Brain Group (Institute for Culture and Society, ICS), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ramirez-Castillo
authors.affiliation: Mind-Brain Group (Institute for Culture and Society, ICS), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; Neuroimaging Laboratory, Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; Clínica Universidad de Navarra, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pastor
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000502:physiology*; D002755:Choice Behavior; D015444:Exercise; D064368:Healthy Volunteers / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012201:Reward; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Decision making; Effort discounting; GPAQ; Risk discounting; Sedentary lifestyle; Subjective value; Utility