Paying Attention When It Counts: The Effect of Motivation on FMRI Activity During Attentional Control

Tracy L. Luks¹, Ashley Kopec², Corby L. Dale¹, Gregory V. Simpson¹, Anthony Kaveh³

Attentional control is the goal-driven allocation of attention to task-appropriate stimuli and responses, and away from distractions. Motivation is the ability to anticipate and appreciate the consequences of behavior, such as rewards or punishments. We examined interactions between neurobiological systems underlying motivation and attentional control using a Rewarded Counting Stoop task during an fMRI scan. Fourteen healthy control volunteers participated in this study. The results suggest that motivation modulates attentional control via increased activity in orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortex, as well as increasing arousal and sustained attention by increasing activity in thalamus and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.