Obiettivo Imagine losing the motivation to do the job that you used to enjoy. The idea of doing those tasks overwhelms you. You cannot push yourself to give the best efforts and end up doing the bare minimum. What are the brain processes that cause such depleted motivation and how can we restore the motivation to put in effort in order to achieve goals? To address these questions, I propose a series of studies to gain a theoretical and practical understanding of the causal relationship between brain computations of effort and the motivation to energise behavior to achieve goals. Specifically I plan to conduct, for the first time, a combined brain stimulation-functional neuroimaging (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation-TMS; functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging-fMRI) experiment to perturb brain regions whose activity represents the amount of effort costs, and measure its impact on neural value computations in a remote but interconnected brain region known to drive choice behavior. This change in causal interplay in the brain should have a quantifiable impact on the motivation to expend effort. I will then use this theoretical knowledge to design a large-scale application of an inexpensive brain stimulation method (Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation-tDCS) to increase motivation, thus establishing a realistic and versatile protocol for restoring motivation in rehabilitative settings. In sum, my research will address the overarching question of how motivation can be enhanced with neuroscience techniques, by combining computational and neuroimaging advances in effort discounting with causal brain stimulation methods. This project will allow me to be trained in the two most common brain stimulation techniques at a pioneering lab in Europe, and forge a new collaborative research line at the Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research at the University of Zurich. Campo scientifico natural sciencesbiological sciencesneurobiology Programma(i) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Argomento(i) MSCA-IF-2015-EF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF) Invito a presentare proposte H2020-MSCA-IF-2015 Vedi altri progetti per questo bando Meccanismo di finanziamento MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF Coordinatore UNIVERSITAT ZURICH Contribution nette de l'UE € 175 419,60 Indirizzo RAMISTRASSE 71 8006 Zurich Svizzera Mostra sulla mappa Regione Schweiz/Suisse/Svizzera Zürich Zürich Tipo di attività Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Collegamenti Contatta l’organizzazione Opens in new window Sito web Opens in new window Partecipazione a programmi di R&I dell'UE Opens in new window Rete di collaborazione HORIZON Opens in new window Costo totale € 175 419,60
