Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Motivation improves the efficiency of intentional behavior, but how this performance modulation is instantiated in the human brain remains unclear. We used a reward-cued antisaccade paradigm to investigate how motivational goals (the expectation of a reward for good performance) modulate patterns of neural activation and functional connectivity to improve preparation for antisaccade performance. Behaviorally, subjects performed better (faster and more accurate antisaccades) when they knew they would be rewarded for good performance. Reward anticipation was associated with increased activation in the ventral and dorsal striatum, and cortical oculomotor regions. Functional connectivity between the caudate nucleus and cortical oculomotor control structures predicted individual differences in the behavioral benefit of reward anticipation. We conclude that although both dorsal and ventral striatal circuitry are involved in the anticipation of reward, only the dorsal striatum and its connected cortical network is involved in the direct modulation of oculomotor behavior by motivational incentive.

Original publication

DOI

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5415-10.2011

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Neurosci

Publication Date

20/07/2011

Volume

31

Pages

10701 - 10711

Keywords

Analysis of Variance, Attention, Basal Ganglia, Brain Mapping, Caudate Nucleus, Cues, Eye Movements, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Motivation, Neural Pathways, Oxygen, Photic Stimulation, Reaction Time, Reward, Serial Learning, Time Factors, Young Adult