Motivation and emotion/Book/2023/Basal ganglia and motivation

Basal ganglia and motivation:
What is the role of the basal ganglia in motivated behaviour?

Overview

Figure 1: Basal Ganglia highlighted in green

The basal ganglia is a group of interconnected nuclei located deep within the brain (see Figure 1 which depicts the location of the basal ganglia in the brain). These nuclei perform an important role in a multitude of crucial functions in the human body and brain. This chapter focuses on the effect the basal ganglia has on motivation. Every individual is affected by motivation, whether they realise it or not. Motivation plays a key role in the function of everyday aspects such as getting out of bed in the morning, studying/ doing an assessment or even something as simple as brushing your teeth each day. In this exploration of motivation and the basal ganglia the connection between the two will become apparent and will shed light on how magical the human brain actually is[vague].

Focus questions:

What is the Basal Ganglia?
What is Motivated Behaviour?
What is the connection between the Basal ganglia and Motivated Behaviour?

What is the Basal Ganglia?

Figure 2: The Basal Ganglia Structures

The Basal Ganglia are a group of interconnected subcortical nuclei that contains the putaman and caudate nucleus, globus pallidus, substantia nigra, and the subthamalmic nucleus (STN). Whereas, the limbic portion of the basal ganglia is composed of the nucleus accumbens, ventral pallidum and the ventral tegmental area (see Figure 2) (Simonyan, 2019a).

The basal ganglia play a complex and multifaceted role in motivation. Typically it is associated with motor control and movement, however in more recent research, it has been shown that it also has involvement in various aspects of motivation and reward processing (Simonyan, 2019a).

What is Motivated Behaviour?

Motivation is a psychological construct that is used to describe the internal or external mechanisms in which individuals and even groups determine particular behaviours and continue doing it (McInerney, 2019). Psychologists have cultivated multiple theories and concepts in which we understand motivation. Motivation plays a funamemtal[spelling?] role in explaining why people do what they do.

Theories of Motivation

There are a number of theories that apply to motivation such as:

Drive Theory: According to this theory, motivation is a result of physiological deficiencies or needs. A person is driven to take action to lessen or satisfy that need when they are experiencing a deficiency or imbalance in a certain need (such as hunger or thirst) (Administrator, 2016).
Incentive Theory: Incentive theory stresses how rewards or stimuli from the outside world influence behavior. People are more likely to engage in actions linked with desired incentives because they are driven to act in ways that result in favorable outcomes or rewards (Logan, 1968).
Expectancy-Value Theory: According to the expectation-value theory, motivation is impacted by both the predicted result of an activity and the significance that person attaches to that result. In other words, people are driven when they value the outcome of their efforts and when they think that their efforts will result in it (Chung et al., 2009).
Self-Determination Theory: This theory emphasizes the value of internal motivation and autonomy. It implies that people are most driven when they are involved in activities that are consistent with their beliefs and interests and when they feel in control of their choices (Hui & Tsang, 2012).
Maslow's Hierarchy of wants: Abraham Maslow is recognized for his theory that places higher-level wants (such as self-actualization and self-esteem) at the top and physiological necessities (such as food and shelter) at the bottom of a hierarchy of needs for humans. Prior to addressing higher-level requirements, people are motivated to address lower-level ones (Kenrick et al., 2010).
The Cognitive Dissonace[spelling?] Theory: The Cognitive Dissonance Theory, originally put forth by Leon Festinger, posits that individuals are driven to alleviate cognitive dissonance - the psychological discomfort experienced when one holds contradictory beliefs or attitudes. This motivation compels people to seek resolution by modifying their convictions or actions.

The Connections between the Basal Ganglia and motivation

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Key points

The basal ganglia affects motivation in a number of different ways.

Motivation means to move, therefore determining the actions of an individual throughout daily tasks. There needs to be fast interactions between the circuits in the brain and motivation. Every day individuals make motivated decisions that begin with cognition and end with action. For example, if an individual is doing an assessment and want a high grade they study (Courtemanche & Cammalleri, 2019).

The basal ganglia performs a complex and multifaceted role in motivation. Historically the basal ganglia is associated with motor control and movement, however, recent research [factual?] has revealed its involvement in a wide variety of aspects in motivation and reward processing. Below is some of the essential roles of the basal ganglia in motivation

- Reward Processing: the basal ganglia, in particular the ventral striatum is heavily involved in the processing of reward and reinforcement learning as well. When an individual experiences something rewarding, for example money or social interaction, the basal ganglia assists in the encoding of the associated pleasurable feelings and reinforces these behaviours that lead to the reward granted (Schultz, 2016).
- Dopamine Regulation: Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays an essential role in motivation. The basal ganglia is predominantly involved in the release and regulation of dopamine, which is known to be linked with feelings of pleasure and reward. When there is a dysregulation of dopamine in the basal ganglia there is a chance of motivational disorders such as addiction and depression (Lanciego et al., 2012).
- Habit Formation: Habits are automatic and repetitive behaviours that can be motivated by external cues or internal urges, the basal ganglia plays an important role in the formation of these habitats. The basal ganglia plays a role in both negative (e.g., vaping, gambling) and positive (e.g., exercising regularly) habits (Exploring the Brain, 2013).
- Goal-Directed Behaviour: The basal ganglia helps to combine information from different brain regions to facilitate goal-directed behaviour. The basal ganglia helps to select and execute actions that will lead to a desired outcome. If there is dysfunction in the basal ganglia there may be difficulties in initiation and maintain goal-directed behaviours (Redgrave et al., 2010).
- Impulse Control: Motivation frequently needs the ability to delay immediate gratification for long-term goals. In conjunctions with other brain regions the basal ganglia helps to regulate impulse control and decision making, which allows individuals to make choices that align with their long-term interests (Pragathi Priyadharsini Balasubramani et al., 2015).
- Role in Disorders: when there is dysfunction in the basal ganglia there can be a wide variety of disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and addiction. Addiction can occur when the reward system becomes dysregulated which leads to compulsive behaviours (Pragathi Priyadharsini Balasubramani et al., 2015)

Learning features

Conclusion

The basal ganglia plays a central role in motivation by facilitating reward processing, dopamine regulation, habit formation, goal-directed behaviour, and the assignment of incentive salience to stimuli. Each nuclei involved in the basal ganglia plays an important role in different areas of motivation, and it is crucial for reward processing, dopamine regulation, habit formation, goal-directed behaviour and impulse control. The basal ganglia encodes things such as pleasurable feelings that are associated with rewards, releases and regulates dopamine which is directly linked to pleasure and motivation which can form both positive and negative habits, and facilitates goal-directed actions and also aids in impulse control. Dysfunctions in the basal ganglia can lead to various motivational and behavioural disorders.[Provide more detail]

References

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Clinic, C. (2022). Basal Ganglia: What It Is, Function & Anatomy. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23962-basal-ganglia

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Hugo Juárez Olguı́n, David Calderón Guzmán, Ernestina Hernández García, & Gerardo Barragán Mejía. (2016). The Role of Dopamine and Its Dysfunction as a Consequence of Oxidative Stress. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity, 2016, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/9730467

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Pragathi Priyadharsini Balasubramani, V. Srinivasa Chakravarthy, Manal Ashraf Ali, Ravindran, B., & Moustafa, A. A. (2015). Identifying the Basal Ganglia Network Model Markers for Medication-Induced Impulsivity in Parkinson’s Disease Patients. PLOS ONE, 10(6), e0127542–e0127542. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0127542

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Schultz, W. (2016). Reward functions of the basal ganglia. Journal of Neural Transmission, 123(7), 679–693. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-016-1510-0

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Wikipedia Contributors. (2023, October 1). Basal ganglia. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_ganglia