Exploring the motivational brain: effects of implicit power motivation on brain activation in response to facial expressions of emotion

Abstract

This study tested the hypothesis that implicit power motivation (nPower), in interaction with power incentives, influences activation of brain systems mediating motivation. Twelve individuals low (lowest quartile) and 12 individuals high (highest quartile) in nPower, as assessed per content coding of picture stories, were selected from a larger initial participant pool and participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study during which they viewed high-dominance (angry faces), low-dominance (surprised faces) and control stimuli (neutral faces, gray squares) under oddball-task conditions. Consistent with hypotheses, high-power participants showed stronger activation in response to emotional faces in brain structures involved in emotion and motivation (insula, dorsal striatum, orbitofrontal cortex) than low-power participants.

How individual needs influence motivation effects: a neuroscientific study on McClelland’s need theory

“…Based on these findings it is suggested that the nucleus accumbens, putamen and caudate nucleus are sensitive to processing close matchings between needs and rewards. These results are in line with findings by Schultheiss et al (2008), who reported that individuals with a high need for power show stronger activation in brain structures involved in motivation (e.g. the striatum) when watching need-congruent pictures.…”

Increased reward in ankle robotics training enhances motor control and cortical efficiency in stroke

“…While potentially more relevant to the clinic, both social interaction and performance feedback were employed in this study and offer a viable platform for development of successful reward-based rehabilitation. As mentioned previously, manipulations such as perceived reward, perceived control, level of challenge, meditation, and aerobic exercise all have exhibited the capability of positively influencing learning and/or performance through modulations of the state of the learner [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][61][62]. In this regard, the current study employs monetary reward as but one of many possible motivational influences capable of enhancing the state of the learner in order to improve recovery (learning) in a clinical setting.…”

“…A fundamental tenet in the field of cognitive neuroscience is that reward provides motivational incentive that elicits brain states conducive to adaptive learning [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40]. Moreover, clinicians widely acknowledge the essential role of reward and motivation in successful rehabilitation and recovery [41].…”

“…Moreover, clinicians widely acknowledge the essential role of reward and motivation in successful rehabilitation and recovery [41]. In this regard, recent investigations have highlighted the "state of the learner" as a crucial component in learning; these studies suggest that factors including attentional focus, perceived control, and perceived reward prompt brain states in which the individual's ability to learn is enhanced [27,32,[34][35][36][38][39][42][43][44]]. Yet we are aware of no studies in stroke in which reward has been manipulated for the purpose of increasing motor learning and recovery.…”

Influence of the cortical midline structures on moral emotion and motivation in moral decision-making

“…Second, activity in the CMS regions significantly moderates activity in other brain regions associated with moral emotion and motivation (e.g., midbrain including the ventral tegmental area, ventral striatum, insula, OFC [57][58][59][60][61]) while subjects are solving moral problems.…”