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Science Advances Dec 2023Stress coping involves innate and active motivational behaviors that reduce anxiety under stressful situations. However, the neuronal bases directly linking stress,...
Stress coping involves innate and active motivational behaviors that reduce anxiety under stressful situations. However, the neuronal bases directly linking stress, anxiety, and motivation are largely unknown. Here, we show that acute stressors activate mouse GABAergic neurons in the interpeduncular nucleus (IPN). Stress-coping behavior including self-grooming and reward behavior including sucrose consumption inherently reduced IPN GABAergic neuron activity. Optogenetic silencing of IPN GABAergic neuron activation during acute stress episodes mimicked coping strategies and alleviated anxiety-like behavior. In a mouse model of stress-enhanced motivation for sucrose seeking, photoinhibition of IPN GABAergic neurons reduced stress-induced motivation for sucrose, whereas photoactivation of IPN GABAergic neurons or excitatory inputs from medial habenula potentiated sucrose seeking. Single-cell sequencing, fiber photometry, and optogenetic experiments revealed that stress-activated IPN GABAergic neurons that drive motivated sucrose seeking express somatostatin. Together, these data suggest that stress induces innate behaviors and motivates reward seeking to oppose IPN neuronal activation as an anxiolytic stress-coping mechanism.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Motivation; Anxiety; GABAergic Neurons; Reward; Sucrose
PubMed: 38055830
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh9620 -
Perspectives on Psychological Science :... Mar 2024Successful cooperation is tightly linked to individuals' beliefs about their interaction partners, the decision setting, and existing norms, perceptions, and values.... (Review)
Review
Successful cooperation is tightly linked to individuals' beliefs about their interaction partners, the decision setting, and existing norms, perceptions, and values. This article reviews and integrates findings from judgment and decision-making, social and cognitive psychology, political science, and economics, developing a systematic overview of the mechanisms underlying motivated cognition in cooperation. We elaborate on how theories and concepts related to motivated cognition developed in various disciplines define the concept and describe its functionality. We explain why beliefs play such an essential role in cooperation, how they can be distorted, and how this fosters or harms cooperation. We also highlight how individual differences and situational factors change the propensity to engage in motivated cognition. In the form of a construct map, we provide a visualization of the theoretical and empirical knowledge structure regarding the role of motivated cognition, including its many interdependencies, feedback loops, and moderating influences. We conclude with a brief suggestion for a future research agenda based on this compiled evidence.
Topics: Humans; Cognition; Judgment; Motivation; Cooperative Behavior
PubMed: 37883800
DOI: 10.1177/17456916231193990 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2023Mindfulness reflects attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental way and has been linked to individual autonomy and motivation, but conclusions are inconsistent.... (Review)
Review Meta-Analysis
INTRODUCTION
Mindfulness reflects attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental way and has been linked to individual autonomy and motivation, but conclusions are inconsistent. The purpose of this review was to summarize previous studies to explore the relationship between mindfulness and motivation and its intervention effects.
METHODS
Literature searches were conducted in five electronic databases. Both correlational studies assessing the association between motivation and mindfulness and experimental studies to verify the effect of intervention were included.
RESULTS
Six papers with seven intervention studies and twenty-three papers with twenty-seven correlational studies met the inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis showed that mindfulness was positively correlated with intrinsic motivation ( = 0.28, < 0.0001) and total motivation ( = 0.37, < 0.0001) but had no significant correlation with extrinsic motivation ( = 0.01, = 0.93) or amotivation ( = -0.17, = 0.14). Effect-size estimates suggested that mindfulness intervention was beneficial to motivation promotion, but the effect was at a low level ( = 0.12).
CONCLUSION
We found consistent support for mindfulness practice relating to motivation promotion, especially on intrinsic motivation development. However, there was still a portion of heterogeneity that could not be explained and needed to be identified in future studies.
Topics: Motivation; Mindfulness; Databases, Factual
PubMed: 37614448
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1159902 -
Function (Oxford, England) 2024
Topics: Creativity; Motivation
PubMed: 38229913
DOI: 10.1093/function/zqae001 -
British Journal of Hospital Medicine... Aug 2023There has been an increase in the number of healthcare-related applications targeted at patients for use on mobile phones. With an increasing proportion of the... (Review)
Review
There has been an increase in the number of healthcare-related applications targeted at patients for use on mobile phones. With an increasing proportion of the population using such applications, it is important to understand the associated limitations, safety concerns and challenges of legalisation. This article explores the impact of these applications on frontline care and patient wellbeing, evaluating the literature surrounding the benefits and challenges of patient-targeted mobile applications in health care and analysing the limitations of existing research. The proclaimed benefits of such applications are not always evidence based. Furthermore, many healthcare applications are created by laypeople and not validated by healthcare authorities, creating a potential to cause patient harm. Further research is needed to identify long-term effects on both healthcare systems and individuals' psychosocial wellbeing. However, research in this field often lacks a universal perspective and may be influenced by underlying financial motives to promote use of the applications.
Topics: Humans; Mobile Applications; Group Processes; Motivation
PubMed: 37646550
DOI: 10.12968/hmed.2023.0158 -
PloS One 2023The cognitive limitations of athletes with Intellectual Impairments (II) may influence their sport behaviour and lead them to rely on coaches' support. However, it is...
The cognitive limitations of athletes with Intellectual Impairments (II) may influence their sport behaviour and lead them to rely on coaches' support. However, it is still unclear how II may influence sports performance progression and motivation and how coaches perceive their athletes with II and coach them. Thus, this study aims to examine 1) coach's perceptions of motivation and performance progression in athletes with and without II, 2) coaching style (dis)similarities, and 3) the association between these factors. Coaches of athletes with (n = 122) and without II (n = 144) were recruited and completed three online questionnaires, analysed using a series of non-parametric analyses (p ≤ .05). Results showed that perceived performance progression and controlled motivation were higher of athletes with II while perceived autonomous motivation was higher of athletes without II. No coaching style differences were found between the two groups. Additionally, a need-supportive coaching style negatively predicted amotivation, and a need-thwarting coaching style predicted lower autonomous motivation in athletes with II only. Overall, it seems that the coaches perceived that their athletes with II demonstrate different motivations and react dissimilarly to their coaching styles compared to athletes without II. They may also adopt different standards of sporting success for them. Due to these differences, it is important to offer appropriate training and knowledge to coaches about disability sports and the adaptations needed to effectively coach athletes with II. In summary, this paper gives some insights about the coach-athlete relationship and highlights the necessity to further support the sports development of people with II.
Topics: Humans; Motivation; Mentoring; Interpersonal Relations; Athletes; Athletic Performance
PubMed: 38134184
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296164 -
The Journal of Neuroscience : the... Oct 2023Prevailing frameworks propose that a key feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is lower motivation. An important component of motivation is the...
Prevailing frameworks propose that a key feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is lower motivation. An important component of motivation is the willingness to engage in cognitively or physically effortful behavior. However, the degree to which effort sensitivity is impaired in ADHD has rarely been tested, and the efficacy of stimulant medication in ameliorating any such impairments is unclear. Here, we tested 20 individuals with ADHD (11 males, 9 females) who were managed with amphetamine-based medication (dexamfetamine, lisdexamfetamine), and 24 controls (8 males, 16 females). Individuals with ADHD were tested over two counterbalanced sessions, ON and OFF their usual amphetamine-based medication. In each session, participants performed an effort-based decision-making task, in which they were required to choose how much cognitive or physical effort they were willing to engage in return for reward. Our results revealed three main findings. First, individuals with ADHD had lower motivation relative to controls to invest effort in both the cognitive and physical domains. Second, amphetamine increased motivation uniformly across both domains. Finally, the net effect of amphetamine treatment was to mostly restore motivation across both domains of effort relative to healthy controls. These data provide clear evidence for a heightened sensitivity to both cognitive and physical effort in ADHD, and reveal the efficacy of amphetamine-based drugs in restoring effort sensitivity to levels similar to controls. These findings confirm the existence of reduced motivational drive in ADHD, and more broadly provide direct causal evidence for a domain-general role of catecholamines in motivating effortful behavior. A core feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is thought to be a heightened aversion to effort. Surprisingly, however, the degree to which effort sensitivity is impaired in ADHD has rarely been tested. More broadly, the relative efficacy of catecholamines in motivating the investment of cognitive and physical effort is unclear. We tested 20 individuals with ADHD ON and OFF amphetamines, and compared their behavior on an effort-based decision-making task to 24 controls. When tested OFF medication, the ADHD group was less cognitively and physically motivated than controls. However, amphetamines led to a comparable increase in motivation across both domains. This demonstrates the efficacy of catecholamines in facilitating domain-general effort, and highlights the broader potential of such drugs to treat disorders of motivation.
Topics: Male; Female; Humans; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Motivation; Amphetamines; Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate; Catecholamines; Central Nervous System Stimulants
PubMed: 37666665
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0982-23.2023 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jul 2023Despite a large amount of research having been done to examine and promote physical activity and health among adolescents and children, relatively little attention has...
Despite a large amount of research having been done to examine and promote physical activity and health among adolescents and children, relatively little attention has been paid attention to underrepresented populations. In this study, we investigated the relationships between expectancy-value motivation and physical activity- and health-related outcomes among a group of at-risk boys at a summer sports camp. The total participants included 107 boys (M = 11.78 years, SD = 1.20). The boys' perceived expectancy beliefs (EXP), importance (IMP), interest (INT), usefulness (USE), effort (EFT), and intention for future participation (IFP) were assessed using established questions on a five-point Likert scale, and a PACER test was performed to estimate their cardiovascular fitness (CVF). Through a path analysis, we found that EXP positively predicted CVF ( = 0.19, < 0.01), IMP positively predicted EFT ( = 0.26, < 0.01), and INT positively predicted both EFT ( = 0.34, < 0.01) and IFP ( = 0.28, < 0.01), while USE had no statistically significant effect on either EFT, IFP, or CVF. We discussed the limitations and implications of the present study. We recommend including a diverse sample and employing the expectancy-value model in future research, and advocating expectancy beliefs and task values, especially importance and interest, among participants during physical activity promotion.
Topics: Male; Humans; Child; Adolescent; Motivation; Exercise; Intention; Sports; Physical Education and Training; Physical Fitness
PubMed: 37444120
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20136273 -
BMC Psychology Oct 2023A unified model of human motivation has been recently introduced that integrates all prior "mini-theories" of motivation into a single, symmetrical model based on first...
BACKGROUND
A unified model of human motivation has been recently introduced that integrates all prior "mini-theories" of motivation into a single, symmetrical model based on first principles: four life domains crossed by three levels of attainment, resulting in 12 discrete motivations. Evidence from a series of studies using a novel image-based method is used to test structural hypotheses derived from a unified model of human motivation.
METHOD
The studies employ large samples (810n to 986n) of working adults who conducted a time-constrained image-based exercise to measure the relative presence or absence of different emotional needs.
RESULTS
These studies provide support for the theoretical model, suggesting that there is substantial heuristic and practical value in a structured framework of motivating needs.
CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that our theoretical model reflects deep interrelationships between discrete types of human motivation, and by linking specific measures to a comprehensive model of human motivation, researchers can have confidence that they have adequately measured the motivation construct.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Motivation
PubMed: 37798750
DOI: 10.1186/s40359-023-01346-5 -
Journal of Vision Apr 2024Humans can rapidly identify materials, such as wood or leather, even within a complex visual scene. Given a single image, one can easily identify the underlying "stuff,"...
Humans can rapidly identify materials, such as wood or leather, even within a complex visual scene. Given a single image, one can easily identify the underlying "stuff," even though a given material can have highly variable appearance; fabric comes in unlimited variations of shape, pattern, color, and smoothness, yet we have little trouble categorizing it as fabric. What visual cues do we use to determine material identity? Prior research suggests that simple "texture" features of an image, such as the power spectrum, capture information about material properties and identity. Few studies, however, have tested richer and biologically motivated models of texture. We compared baseline material classification performance to performance with synthetic textures generated from the Portilla-Simoncelli model and several common image degradations. The textures retain statistical information but are otherwise random. We found that performance with textures and most degradations was well below baseline, suggesting insufficient information to support foveal material perception. Interestingly, modern research suggests that peripheral vision might use a statistical, texture-like representation. In a second set of experiments, we found that peripheral performance is more closely predicted by texture and other image degradations. These findings delineate the nature of peripheral material classification.
Topics: Humans; Cues; Fovea Centralis; Motivation; Perception
PubMed: 38625088
DOI: 10.1167/jov.24.4.13