The Neural Underpinnings of How Reward Associations Can Both Guide and Misguide Attention

• DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0732-11.2011
• Publication Date: 2011-06-29T16:44:18Z
• Authors: R. M. Krebs; C. N. Boehler; T. Egner; M. G. Woldorff
• Keywords: Stroop effect; Stimulus (psychology); Reward system

It is commonly accepted that reward an effective motivator of behavior, but little known about potential costs resulting from associations. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural underpinnings such reward-related performance-disrupting effects in a reward-modulated Stroop task humans. While associations task-relevant dimension (i.e., ink color) facilitated performance, behavioral detriments were found when task-irrelevant word meaning) implicitly referred reward-predictive colors. Neurally, only relevant invoked typical reward-anticipation response nucleus accumbens (NAcc), which was turn predictive facilitation. In contrast, irrelevant increased activity medial prefrontal motor-control-related region, namely presupplementary motor area (pre-SMA), likely reflects preemption and inhibition automatic tendencies are amplified by words. This view further supported positive relationship between pre-SMA pronounced slowing trials containing as compared with reward-unrelated incongruent Importantly, distinct processes related beneficial detrimental appeared arise preferential-coding mechanisms visual-processing areas shared two stimulus dimensions, suggesting transfer saliency dimension, highly differential ramifications. More generally, data demonstrate even entirely can influence stimulus-processing response-selection pathways relatively automatically, thereby representing important flipside reward-driven performance enhancements.