The Effect Of Achievement Motive On Delay Discounting Is Mediated By Functional Connectivity Between DlPFC And MPFC

Achievement motive was one of the basic human needs(Murray,1938). Atkinson(1957) had proposed that achievement motive was conceived as a relatively stable disposition to strive for achievement or success. Achievement motive can affect many human behaviors, not only including goal settings(Hinsz & Jundt,2005; Matsui, Okada,& Kakuyama,1982), academic performance (Steinmayr & Spinath,2009; Uhlinger & Stephens,1960), career success(Wainer & Rubin,1969) and risk decision making(Atkinson,1957; Raynor & Smith,1966), but also have a far-reaching impact on the country’s economy in the future. Therefore, the further explorations about the cognitive and neural mechanism of achievement motive have profound significance. Previously, there have been many researches of achievement motive in the economic field, mostly focusing on the relationship between achievement motive and individual success, such as school performance, enterprise success and self-attribution. However, time is an important component contributed to achievement motive, it remains rare that to explore how achievement motive would affect the impact of achievement motive on time-related decision makings. Intertemporal choice was the classical time-related decision-making, a weigh between immediate reward and future reward. To explore how achievement motive influence intertemporal choice, the present study used behavioral test and resting-state fMRI to declare two main questions as followings:(1) the impact of achievement motive on delay discounting (Study I); (2) how achievement motive modulates delay discounting from neural perspective(Study II).In study I, with the classical delay discounting task(DDT) and achievement motive scale(AMS), we explored how achievement motive influenced delay discounting. The results showed that:(1) the delay discounting rate was positively correlated with achievement motive score. Individual with high achievement motive preferred immediate reward and had higher discounting rate, which seemed that they were more impulsive and more focus on reward.In study Ⅱ, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) and mediation analyses to test the neural mechanism which plausibly contributed to account for the link between achievement motive and delay discounting. The result showed that d1PFC-mPFC coupling was the only mediator which was able to account for the effect of achievement motive on delay discounting. Additionally, the results revealed that three functional couplings were positively correlated to achievement motive, including d1PFC-mPFC functional coupling, d1PFC-mOFC functional coupling, and d1PFC-VS functional coupling.In conclusion, the study revealed that d1PFC-mPFC functional coupling was the good mediator contribute to the impact of achievement motive on delay discounting partially. Firstly, achievement motive had an impact on intertemporal choice.Specifically, the delay discounting rate was positively correlated with achievement motive score, which suggested that individuals with high achievement motive seemed more impulsive. Secondly, a mediation analysis revealed the impact of achievement motive on delay discounting was mediated by d1PFC-mPFC functional connectivity. Combined, these results provided us a novel perspective to explore the impact of achievement motive on delay discounting.