The purpose of this research study is to understand how healthy individuals self-regulate motivation by observing brain activity using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Neuromodulatory nuclei detect and transform brain network activity into simpler signals, then send neurotransmitters back out to large-scale brain networks to change their function. Such nuclei are centrally implicated in mental disorders and adaptive resilience, and their regulation remains an untapped resource for interventions. The purpose of this study is to understand how neuromodulatory nuclei detect and in turn influence distributed patterns of brain activity to impact behavior. In order to understand their regulation and effects on brain function, the investigative team has developed novel neuroimaging, behavioral, and analytic methods. These methods include: training participants to endogenously self-regulate dopaminergic midbrain and then relating midbrain activation to memory-conducive states, effort exertion, and decision making. If the aims of this project are achieved, the investigators will have methods for regulating midbrain noninvasively, an improved understanding of its impact on learning and motivated behavior, and reliable cognitive strategies for a wide array of interventions across educational and clinical applications.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
190
fMRI neurofeedback training of sustained midbrain/VTA activation via motivational imagery.
Center for Cognitive Neuroscience
Durham, North Carolina, United States
RECRUITINGPercent signal change in VTA BOLD activation
Time frame: During the MRI scan, approximately 2 hours
Change in effort-based decision making, as measured by the Effort Expenditure for Reward Task (EEfRT)
Decisions to exert effort.
Time frame: During the MRI scan, approximately 2 hours
Change in motivated memory, as measured by the Monetary Incentive Encoding task (MIE)
Improved motivated memory formation.
Time frame: During the MRI scan, approximately 2 hours
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