Geneva Motivation Lab, University of Geneva, FPSE, Dept. of Psychology, 40, Bd. du Pont d'Arve, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2017 Sep;119:11-18. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.12.009. Epub 2016 Dec 23.
Numerous studies have assessed cardiovascular (CV) reactivity as a measure of effort mobilization during cognitive tasks. However, psychological and neural processes underlying effort-related CV reactivity are still relatively unclear. Previous research reliably found that CV reactivity during cognitive tasks is mainly determined by one region of the brain, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), and that this region is systematically engaged during cognitively demanding tasks. The present integrative approach builds on the research on cognitive control and its brain correlates that shows that dACC function can be related to conflict monitoring and integration of information related to task difficulty and success importance-two key variables in determining effort mobilization. In contrast, evidence also indicates that executive cognitive functioning is processed in more lateral regions of the prefrontal cortex. The resulting model suggests that, when automatic cognitive processes are insufficient to sustain behavior, the dACC determines the amount of required and justified effort according to task difficulty and success importance, which leads to proportional adjustments in CV reactivity and executive cognitive functioning. These propositions are discussed in relation to previous findings on effort-related CV reactivity and cognitive performance, new predictions for future studies, and relevance for other self-regulatory processes.
许多研究都评估了心血管（CV）反应性，作为认知任务中努力动员的一种衡量标准。然而，努力相关的 CV 反应性背后的心理和神经过程仍然相对不清楚。先前的研究可靠地发现，认知任务期间的 CV 反应性主要由大脑的一个区域决定，即背侧前扣带皮层（dACC），并且该区域在认知要求高的任务中会被系统地激活。本综合方法建立在认知控制及其大脑相关研究的基础上，该研究表明，dACC 的功能可以与冲突监测和与任务难度和成功重要性相关的信息整合相关联，这两个是决定努力动员的关键变量。相比之下，证据还表明，执行认知功能是在前额叶皮层的更外侧区域进行处理的。由此产生的模型表明，当自动认知过程不足以维持行为时，dACC 根据任务难度和成功重要性来确定所需和合理的努力量，从而导致 CV 反应性和执行认知功能的比例调整。这些命题与努力相关的 CV 反应性和认知表现的先前发现、对未来研究的新预测以及对其他自我调节过程的相关性进行了讨论。
