Interactions of motivation and cognitive control

• Published in: Current opinion in behavioral sciences Vol. 19; pp. 83 - 90
• Main Authors: Yee, Debbie M, Braver, Todd S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01-02-2018
• ISSN: 2352-1546; 2352-1554
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.11.009

•Motivation may have a preferential impact on proactive cognitive control mechanisms.•Dopamine signals may enhance control by modulating prefrontal task representations.•Cognitive control can be construed as a form of economic decision-making.•Motivational value can offset subjective/computational costs of effortful control.•Future research targets: Pavlovian/instrumental and appetitive/aversive distinctions.
There is general agreement that both motivation and cognitive control play critical roles in shaping goal-directed behavior, but only recently has scientific interest focused around the question of motivation–control interactions. Here we briefly survey this literature, organizing contemporary findings around three issues: (1) whether motivation preferentially impacts cognitive control processes, (2) the neural mechanisms that underlie motivation–cognition interactions, and (3) why motivation might be relevant for overcoming the costs of control. Dopamine (DA) is discussed as a key neuromodulator in these motivation–cognition interactions. We conclude by highlighting open issues, specifically Pavlovian versus instrumental control distinctions and effects of motivational valence and conflict, which could benefit from future research attention.