Neural and computational mechanisms of effort under the pressure of a deadline

Deadlines fundamentally shape the motivation for effort. Research examining effort-based choices findshigh effort is an avoided cost. However, this work overlooks the fact that effort can be valuable when itmakes progress on long-term goals before deadlines. We test a new framework where motivationdepends on deadline pressure (work remaining / time remaining). Across three studies we usecomputational modelling on novel tasks examining effort-based decisions when effort makes progresson goals with deadlines. In support of hypotheses, deadline pressure significantly impacts decisionmaking, shifting people from avoiding effort, to seeking and valuing it. Using ultra-high-field fMRI, weshow that functionally connected putamen and midcingulate cortex (MCC) sub-regions process andupdate estimates of deadline pressure, with distinct anterior cingulate and putamen sub-regionsprocessing the costs or added value of effort. We show the neurocomputational mechanisms for howdeadline pressure shapes motivation, and that keep us ‘on track’ for our goals.