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Published August 2009 | Accepted Version
Journal Article Open

Choking on the Money: Reward-Based Performance Decrements Are Associated With Midbrain Activity

Abstract

A pernicious paradox in human motivation is the occasional reduced performance associated with tasks and situations that involve larger-than-average rewards. Three broad explanations that might account for such performance decrements are attentional competition (distraction theories), inhibition by conscious processes (explicit-monitoring theories), and excessive drive and arousal (overmotivation theories). Here, we report incentive-dependent performance decrements in humans in a reward-pursuit task; subjects were less successful in capturing a more valuable reward in a computerized maze. Concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that increased activity in ventral midbrain, a brain area associated with incentive motivation and basic reward responding, correlated with both reduced number of captures and increased number of near-misses associated with imminent high rewards. These data cast light on the neurobiological basis of choking under pressure and are consistent with overmotivation accounts.

Additional Information

© 2009 SAGE. Article first published online: August 1, 2009; Issue published: August 1, 2009; Accepted: December 06, 2008; Received: June 10, 2008. We thank Predrag Petrovic, Marcus Gray, Cindy Hagan, and Christian Buchel for helpful comments and help with the experimental setup. This research was supported by the Wellcome Trust. D.M. is supported by a Brain Research Trust Prize Studentship and by the MRC. R.J.D. is a Wellcome Trust Programme Grant holder. C.D.F. is supported by the Wellcome Trust and the Danish National Research Foundation.

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August 20, 2023
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October 18, 2023