Identifying the Neural Signature of Motivation for Exercise

Kaitlyn Bigner BS, SPT; Jenna Calvelage BS, SPT; Sarah Doren BS, SPT; Katie Preston BS, SPT; Pierce Boyne PT, DPT, PhD, NCS
College of Allied Health Sciences, Department of Rehabilitation, Exercise and Nutrition Sciences

BACKGROUND RESULTS / DISCUSSION

• Motivation is critical for rehabilitation because it likely improves exercise adherence, • As expected,5 motor regions (M1-LL, SMA, PMd) were
rehabilitation engagement and community participation, leading to better recovery1 active during gait
• However, it is difficult to measure, as current methods rely on subjective questionnaires1,2
• Understanding the neural underpinnings of motivation could: • Several cortical regions were more active with extra
• Provide a more objective and reliable measure of motivation motivation (or showed trends in that direction)
• Uncover unconscious aspects of motivation that are not captured by questionnaires • Possible mechanism explaining positive effects of
• Better predict those who may respond positively to rehabilitation3 motivational feedback on locomotor
• Inform targeted brain stimulation intervention to improve motivation rehabilitation6
• Identify the need for targeted behavioral intervention to supplement physical rehab
• No previous studies have measured neural activity related to motivation during exercise • SFG/ACC and DLPFC seemed the most specifically
• The purpose of this study was to determine brain regions that are upregulated during periods of related to motivation
higher motivation while performing physical activity • Minimal activity with standard trials
• SFG/ACC had highest activation and earliest
onset with extra motivation (Fig 6).
METHODS • Recent MRI research has also suggested the
SFG/ACC may be involved with motivation for
• Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) uses light to measure changes in brain activity. physical activity.7
• Healthy adults performed a single-visit, walking experiment with fNIRS:
• 20 trials of maximal speed walking, 20 feet x 4 per trial, with 20 seconds of standing rest
between trials
• Walking bursts randomized as either:
• Extra Motivation: lap timer, tracked best lap time, verbal encouragement
• Standard: no external feedback
• Oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) response was measured from brain regions of interest (Fig 1), Fig 6: Select HbO2 time courses during walking trials
compared between conditions and averaged across participants using multi-level general linear
modeling.4
SFG/
ACC

M1_LL

Figure 1: Brain Montage Figure 2: fNIRS set-up Figure 3: Walking trial

RESULTS
DLPFC
Standard Trials vs rest Extra-Motivation vs Standard

Region of Interest T-value P-value T-value P-value

SFG/ACC 1.81 0.11 2.02 0.08
M1_LL 3.10 0.01 4.38 0.002
SMA 3.56 0.007 1.67 0.13 • Limitations:
PMD 2.86 0.02 4.07 0.004 • Small sample size
• Difficult to determine independent effects of
aPFC 3.23 0.01 8.46 <0.001
each brain region
DLPFC 0.21 0.84 1.55 0.14
• Future research should test different motivation
Fig 4. Fig 5. conditions, longitudinal outcomes and effects of brain
stimulation

REFERENCES
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• Sample: 5 healthy adults (4 females; mean age 26.2±5.5) • [7] Boyne P, Maloney T, DiFrancesco M, et al. Resting-state functional connectivity of subcortical locomotor centers explains variance in
walking capacity. Human Brain Mapping. 2018;39(12):4831-4843. doi:10.1002/hbm.2432