striatum

1. Neuroscience ofIntrinsic MotivationJohnmarshall ReeveInstitute of Positive Psychology and Education, Australian Catholic UniversitySydney, Australiahttp://www.johnmarshallreeve.org striatum

2. Why the Focus on Intrinsic Motivatrion?Because Quality of Motivation Predicts 21st Century Educational Outcomes • Engagement • Behavioral • Extrinsic Motivation • Rewards • Incentives • Directives • Social Pressure • Tests • Grades Compliance • 21st Century Skills • Innovation • Collaboration • Talent & • Skill Development • Prosocial Behavior • Creativity • Autonomous • Self-Regulation • Psychological & • Physical Well-Being • Engagement • Behavioral • Emotional • Cognitive • Agentic • Intrinsic Motivation • Interest • Enjoyment • Curiosity

3. Why the Focus on Intrinsic Motivatrion?Because Quality of Motivation Predicts 21st Century Educational Outcomes Origins/Antecedents The Offering of Attractive Environmental Objects and Events • Engagement • Behavioral • Extrinsic Motivation • Rewards • Incentives • Directives • Social Pressure • Tests • Grades Compliance • 21st Century Skills • Innovation • Collaboration • Talent & • Skill Development • Prosocial Behavior • Creativity • Autonomous • Self-Regulation • Psychological & • Physical Well-Being • Engagement • Behavioral • Emotional • Cognitive • Agentic • Intrinsic Motivation • Interest • Enjoyment • Curiosity Environments/Relationships That Support Students Inherent Psychological Needs Autonomy Competence Relatedness

4. Extrinsic Motivation(Incentive Motivation) To study motivation, neuroscientists focus almost exclusively on extrinsic motivation. A neuroscience-based grand theory of motivation: • (1) When an environmental object generates more gain/benefit than expected (e.g., opportunity for extra credit points), the ventral tegmental area (VTA) releases dopamine, which is then communicated to: • (2) striatum(nucleus accumbens) in the experience of rewarding and pleasurable feelings (e.g., pleasant taste, social acceptance) and in the generation of motivational force (approach behavior, effort). • (3) hippocampus to enhance learning and memory of the event. • (4) prefrontal cortex to focus attention, planning. • With repeated experiences, past reward-related information helps establish an anticipatory motivational value of objects and events. This learned reward-related information serves as the basis of future goals, values, and preferences.

5. Intrinsic Motivation The inherent tendency to seek out novelty and challenge, to explore and investigate, and to stretch and extend one’s capacities (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Intrinsically motivated behaviors generate subjective feelings of Interest Enjoyment That signal experiences of intrinsic satisfaction in what one is doing that, then, function to encourage present and future volitional engagement in that task, activity, or environment. It is a naturally occurring inclination toward… • Interest-taking • Challenge-seeking • Information assimilation (learning) • Personal growth

6. Different Neural Activations Under Conditions of Intrinsic Motivation vs. Extrinsic MotivationOur Very First Experiment in the Neuroscience of Intrinsic Motivation PCC involved in pros-and-cons decision-making (reward vs effort). AIC involved in “gut feelings” of interest, liking. Source: Lee, W., Reeve, J., Xue, Y., & Xiong, J. (2012). Neural differences between intrinsic reasons for doing versus extrinsic reasons for doing: an fMRI study. Neuroscience Research, 73, 68-72.

7. Different Neural Activations Under Conditions of Intrinsic Motivation vs. Extrinsic Motivation Our Second Experiment in the Neuroscience of Intrinsic Motivation AIC is more activated under conditions of agency and self-determined energization of action (e.g., “I want to…”) Angular gyrus (or Inferior parietal cortex) is more activated under conditions of non-agency and other-determined energization of action (e.g., “I have to…”). Source: Lee, W., & Reeve, J. (2013). Self-determined, but not non-self-determined, motivation predicts activations in the anterior insular cortex: an fMRI study of personal agency. Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience, 8, 538-545.

8. Bilateral AIC Activations Correlate Significantly with Experiences of Intrinsic Motivation Participants self-reported questionnaire scores on autonomy and competence (the two psychological needs that underlie intrinsic motivation) correlated rather strongly with extent of anterior insular cortex (AIC) activations during exposure to interesting activities. Source: Reeve, J., & Lee, W. (2019). A neuroscience perspective on the self-determination theory framework. Journal of Personality, 87(1), 102-114.

9. Psychological and Neural Bases of Intrinsic Motivation Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2017) • A psychological need is an inherent and necessary nutriment within all people whose satisfaction is necessary for the person to experience positive functioning, personal growth, and well-being. There are 3 needs—autonomy, competence, and relatedness. • Autonomy satisfaction  a sense of volition & personal endorsement of one’s behavior. • Competence satisfaction  a sense of effectance in one’s environmental interactions. • Relatedness satisfaction  a sense of connection with the important people in one’s life. • When activity engagement allows the person to feel volition, effectance, and connection then that activity produces need-satisfying spontaneous satisfactions. These satisfactions are associated with anterior insular activations (Lee & Reeve, 2013, 2017). Neural Basis of Intrinsic Motivation (Reeve & Lee, 2019) • Intrinsic motivation arises from "intrinsic rewards", such as subjective feelings of interest and enjoyment. These intrinsic rewards are the "spontaneous satisfactions" one feels while engaged in a task (e.g., satisfaction from a job well done). These intrinsic satisfactions are generated by the anterior insula. Hence, anterior insula activations provide neural support for the experience of intrinsic motivation. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York, NY: Guilford. Reeve, J., & Lee, W. (2019). A neuroscience perspective on the self-determination theory framework. Journal of Personality, 87(1), 102-114.

10. What Makes an Activity Interesting and Enjoyable (i.e., Intrinsically Motivating)? • People have inherent psychological needs for competence, relatedness and autonomy (i.e., self-determination theory; Ryan & Deci, 2017). • When any activity involves or activates a psychological need, we experience interest (need involvement, alertness to anticipatory need satisfaction). That gut-felt feeling of interest, alertness, and attention to the task at hand is supported neurologically by activations in the bilateral anterior insula. • When any activity satisfies or nurtures a psychological need, we experience enjoyment (need satisfaction). That reward-like sense of satisfaction is supported neurologically by activations in the bilateral striatum.

11. A Demonstrationof the Neuroscience of Intrinsic Motivation

12. DemonstrationCan you solve this anagram? I’ll present a 5-letter anagram. You have 7 seconds to solve it. After 3 seconds, I’ll show you a hint. After 7 seconds, I’ll show you the solution.

13. Demonstration Can you solve this anagram? O H T M N __ __ __ __ __

14. Demonstration Can you solve this anagram? With a hint… O H T M N M O __ __ __ How interesting?

15. Demonstration Can you solve this anagram? O H T M N M O N T H How satisfying? How enjoyable?

16. Demonstration #2 One more…

17. Demonstration #2 Can you solve this anagram? H U O C G __ __ __ __ __

18. Demonstration #2 Can you solve this anagram? With a hint… H U O C G C O __ __ __ How interesting?

19. Demonstration #2 Can you solve this anagram? H U O C G C O U G H How satisfying? How enjoyable?

20. Demonstration #3 Can you answer this trivia question? What musical instrument was invented to sound like human singing? How interesting? Answer in 7 seconds…

21. Demonstration #3 Can you answer this trivia question? What musical instrument was invented to sound like human singing? - Violin How enjoyable? How satisfying?

22. Neuroscience of “How interesting?” “How enjoyable?”Brain Activations that Signal “Spontaneous Satisfactions” (Interest, Enjoyment) during a Task How interesting? O H T M N How enjoyable? M O N T H Optimal Challenge (Anticipatory Competence Need Satisfaction) Anterior Insula Activation Mastery Experience (Actual Competence Need Satisfaction) Striatum Activation

23. Neuroscience of Intrinsic Motivation How interesting? O H T M N How enjoyable? M O N T H A deeply satisfying experience (i.e., intrinsic motivation) occurs with anterior insula and striatum co-activations (interest-enjoyment together).

24. Neuroscience of Intrinsic Motivation What happens in the brain when people are exposed to conditions known to involve/engage intrinsic motivation? • Offered an optimal challenge to master • Exposed to new, curiosity-provoking information • Invited to do what you really want to do.

25. Experimental DesignTop row: First Curiosity-Inducing Question (7s), Then New Information (3s)Bottom row: First Optimal Challenge (7s), Then Correct Answer (3s) Source: Lee, W., & Reeve, J. (2017). Identifying the neural substrates of intrinsic motivation during task performance. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 17, 939-953.

26. AIC Activation When Exposed to Optimal Challenge and New Information to Be LearnedNeed Involvement (first 7s) CUR = Curiosity-Inducing Questions NCUR = Routine, Everyday Simple-to-Answer Questions COMP = Optimally Challenging Anagrams to Solve NCOMP = Non-Challenging (Easy) Anagrams to Solve Source: Lee, W., & Reeve, J. (2017). Identifying the neural substrates of intrinsic motivation during task performance. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 17, 939-953.

27. Neuroscience of Intrinsic Motivation What happens in the brain when people are exposed to conditions known to satisfy intrinsic motivation? • Progress/success during optimal challenge • Learn something new • Pursue one’s interests and goals Striatum (dorsal, ventral)

28. Striatum Activation When Mastering Optimal Challenge and Learning New InformationNeed Satisfaction (last 3s) CUR = Curiosity-Inducing Questions NCUR = Routine, Everyday Simple-to-Answer Questions COMP = Optimally Challenging Anagrams to Solve NCOMP = Non-Challenging (Easy) Anagrams to Solve Source: Lee, W., & Reeve, J. (2017). Identifying the neural substrates of intrinsic motivation during task performance. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 17, 939-953.

29. Co-Activation of AIC and StriatumPPI Analysis PPI = Psychophysiological Interaction Analysis This analysis shows the interconnectivity between AIC and striatum activations. (i.e., AIC and striatum activations are both associated with experimental manipulations known to produce the rise and fall of competence and curiosity satisfaction.) Source: Lee, W., & Reeve, J. (2017). Identifying the neural substrates of intrinsic motivation during task performance. Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience, 17, 939-953.

30. Autonomy Predicts Learning (via AIC, Striatum, and DLPFC Activations) Reeve, J., & Lee, W. (2019). Autonomy predicts learning: A study in educational neuroscience. Manuscript under review.

31. Results from Tests of Hypotheses H2, H4, H5, H6, and H7 Test of H2 Autonomy Ratings Predict AIC Activations Test of H4 Interest Ratings Predict Striatum Activations Test of H5 Learning (Test Scores) Predict DLPFC Activations

32. What Does This All Mean? • Autonomy (Intrinsic Motivation)  AIC Activations • AIC Activations  Interest-related Striatum Activations • AIC Activations  Cognitive engagement and learning-related DLPFC Activations Overall: Autonomy Predicts Learning, as this psychological-motivational state arises from neural activations that support agency (AIC), interest (Striatum) and cognitive engagement in the material to be learned (DLPFC).

33. Caution in Our InterpretationWhere Future Research in Intrinsic Motivation Will Go • We study momentary, episodic, activity-specific experiences of intrinsic motivation (i.e., the involvement and satisfaction of a psychological need during a particular activity). • We focus on subcortical brain structures and processes. • Other research teams, however, study autonomous motivation more generally—autonomous (or self-determined) functioning, autonomous decision-making, and self-determination in the personality(see, for instance, research from Ryan, Di Domenico, Murayama, Ng—who is one of tomorrow’s speakers!) • These researchers study cortical brain structures and processes, such as the PFC, ACC, VmPFC, OFC. • Eventually, intrinsic motivation research will integrate cortical (top-down) and subcortical (bottom-up) processes to offer a more comprehensive understanding of this vital and educationally-relevant motivation.

34. Thanks to My Collaborator! Woogul Lee Department of Education, Korea National University of Education