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<p>Influential theories of cognitive effort-based decision-making suggest that a cost-benefit trade-off guides mental effort allocation and that this trade-off may be reflected in shared neural activity in circuits tracking potential reward and task demand. While the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)—and in&#xa0;particular, the anterior cingulate cortex (dACC)—has been proposed as a candidate region implementing this computation, it remains unclear whether mPFC/dACC activity tracks rewards and task demand independently or integrates them to reflect effort intensity. Recent accounts posit that the dACC plays a key role in mediating cost-benefit trade-offs. However, empirical evidence remains inconsistent. We conducted a systematic meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies, using the activation-likelihood estimation method to quantify brain activity across 45 studies (<i>N</i> = 1,273 participants) investigating choices and task performance in reward-guided cognitive control. We observed significant recruitment of the mPFC/dACC, putamen, and anterior insula for processing larger rewards and higher task demands. The mPFC/dACC clusters sensitive to task demands and rewards were anatomically distinct: caudal mPFC/dACC activity tracked increasing task demands, while rostral mPFC/dACC activity tracked increasing reward. Interestingly, caudal mPFC/dACC activity tracked the integration of reward and task demand, compatible with cost-benefit trade-off theories of dACC function. These findings provide evidence for distinct signals for mental demand and reward in the mPFC/dACC, which are integrated to support the decision to invest mental effort.</p>

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The neural basis of cost-benefit trade-offs in effort investment: a quantitative activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月14日

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  • Nathaniel Edgar,
  • Kevin da Silva Castanheira,
  • Gary R. Turner,
  • R. Nathan Spreng,
  • Eliana Vassena,
  • A. Ross Otto

摘要

Influential theories of cognitive effort-based decision-making suggest that a cost-benefit trade-off guides mental effort allocation and that this trade-off may be reflected in shared neural activity in circuits tracking potential reward and task demand. While the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)—and in particular, the anterior cingulate cortex (dACC)—has been proposed as a candidate region implementing this computation, it remains unclear whether mPFC/dACC activity tracks rewards and task demand independently or integrates them to reflect effort intensity. Recent accounts posit that the dACC plays a key role in mediating cost-benefit trade-offs. However, empirical evidence remains inconsistent. We conducted a systematic meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies, using the activation-likelihood estimation method to quantify brain activity across 45 studies (N = 1,273 participants) investigating choices and task performance in reward-guided cognitive control. We observed significant recruitment of the mPFC/dACC, putamen, and anterior insula for processing larger rewards and higher task demands. The mPFC/dACC clusters sensitive to task demands and rewards were anatomically distinct: caudal mPFC/dACC activity tracked increasing task demands, while rostral mPFC/dACC activity tracked increasing reward. Interestingly, caudal mPFC/dACC activity tracked the integration of reward and task demand, compatible with cost-benefit trade-off theories of dACC function. These findings provide evidence for distinct signals for mental demand and reward in the mPFC/dACC, which are integrated to support the decision to invest mental effort.