ORCID
- M. Andrea Pisauro: 0000-0001-6087-2597
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Deadlines fundamentally shape motivation. Research examining effort-based choices finds effort is an avoided cost. However, this overlooks how making progress on longer-term goals to be reached before deadlines motivate people to exert high effort for little immediate reward. Here, we test a framework where motivation depends on deadline pressure (work remaining / time remaining). Across four studies we use computational modelling examining decisions when physical effort makes progress on goals with deadlines. In support of the hypotheses, deadline pressure significantly impacts decision-making, shifting people from avoiding effort, to seeking the progress it makes. Using ultra-high-field fMRI, we show that functionally connected putamen and midcingulate cortex sub-regions process and update estimates of deadline pressure, with distinct anterior cingulate and putamen sub-regions processing effort both when it is being avoided or sought. These results reveal the neurocomputational mechanisms for how deadline pressure shapes motivation, and keep us on track with goals.
DOI Link
Publication Date
2026-07-28
Publication Title
Nature Communications
Volume
17
Issue
1
ISSN
2041-1723
Acceptance Date
2026-07-02
Deposit Date
2026-09-04
Funding
MAJA was funded by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council David Phillips Fellowship (BB/R010668/2), a European Research Council Consolidator grant funded through UKRI Horizon guarantee (EP/Y014561/1) and a Jacobs Foundation Fellowship (2022-1484-00).
Additional Links
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Pisauro, M., Pollicino, D., Fisher, L., & Apps, M. (2026) 'Neural and computational mechanisms of effort under the pressure of a deadline', Nature Communications, 17(1). Available at: 10.1038/s41467-026-75987-6
