The neuroscience of motivation studies how the environment and daily events activate specific brain structures and how these are associated with the motivational states that energize, direct, and sustain behavior (Carver & Scheier, 1998). Our evolving understanding of the human brain provides new clues as to what makes specific individuals more motivated than others – whether it be an employee working harder at their job or students engaging more in learning than peers.

The chemical dopamine primarily deals with motivation. Dopamine generates positive and negative motivation depending on where in the brain it is acting. High dopamine levels concentrated in one area of the brain drive individuals to work hard for a reward; high levels in another drive them to reject that effort. This discrepancy is because dopamine is a reward neurotransmitter and conveys what neuroscientists label “motivational salience.” Dopamine transmits signals in response to rewards. It also signals responses to salient, non-rewarding stimuli like stress or aversion. Dopamine motivates us either toward or away from something” (Berridge, 2004, 2018). Dopamine neurons connect distinct brain networks and have distinct roles in motivational control, e.g., supporting brain networks for seeking evaluation and value learning. In contrast, others support orienting, cognition, and general motivation (Bromberg, 2010). 

The cortical brain contains conscious and deliberate motivations, including goals, plans, strategies, values, and beliefs about the self. Some cortical brain structures involve motivation and emotional states (Reeve, 2018). The subcortical brain involves memory, emotion, pleasure, and hormone production. Structures in the cortical and subcortical brain are linked by a network of neural pathways that communicate with each other. As part of the nervous system, these brain structures use neurotransmitters to interact, while the endocrine system relies on hormones such as cortisol, oxytocin, and testosterone important for motivation (Reeve, 2018). Neuroplasticity is the capacity of neural networks in the brain to alter their connections and behavior in reaction to new information, sensory stimulation, development, damage, or dysfunction (Ceruto, 2018). Measuring motivation includes many approaches, such as observable responses, cognitive responses like the speed of recall or quality of perception, analyzing self-reports of one’s experience, and behavioral measures such as task performance and brain activation.