ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Computational Psychiatry
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1581802
Cognitive effort devaluation and the salience network: A Computational Model of Amotivation in Depression
Provisionally accepted
- 1International St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic Kwandong University, Incheon, Republic of Korea
- 2Catholic Kwandong University Industry Cooperation Foundation, Incheon, Republic of Korea
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Introduction: Amotivation in depression is linked to impaired reinforcement learning and effort expenditure via the dopaminergic reward pathway. To understand its computational and neural basis, we modeled incentive, temporal and cognitive burden effects, identifying key components and brain networks of cost-benefit valuation. Methods: Data from 43 psychotropic-free individuals (31 non- or minimally depressed individuals), including Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES), n-back task performance, and resting-state fMRI, were analyzed. Cost-benefit valuation was modeled using loss aversion, learning, temporal, and cognitive effort discounting factors. Model fitting and comparison (two-learning rate vs. two-temporal discounting) were performed. Principal Component Analysis and linear regression identified factors predicting amotivation severity. Correlations of estimated factors with nucleus accumbens and anterior insular cortex (AIC) functional connectivity were analyzed. Results: Overall, greater 2-back than 0-back accuracy occurred in longer, positively incentivized tasks. Non- or minimally depressed individuals showed accuracy difference by N-back load at higher rewards, with divergence between reward and loss tasks at higher incentive and longer lengths. The two-temporal discounting model best explained these results. Cognitive effort discounting specifically predicted amotivation scores, derived from BDI and AES, and correlated with AIC-anterior mid cingulate cortex (aMCC) functional connectivity. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate amotivation is specifically associated with cognitive effort devaluation in a cost-benefit analysis incorporating loss aversion, incentive learning, temporal discounting, and cognitive effort discounting. Modulation of effort valuation via the AIC-aMCC network suggests a potential treatment target.
Keywords: Depression, Motivation, Apathy, Reward valuation, working memory, insular cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, effort discounting
Received: 23 Feb 2025; Accepted: 29 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Park, Lee and Jhung. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Il Ho Park, International St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic Kwandong University, Incheon, Republic of Korea
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