精神疲劳神经起源的因果解释

Successful goal-directed behavior often requires the exertion of effortful cognitive control processes, but it remains unclear why engaging in cognitive control is experienced as effortful and induces fatigue. Here, we tested the hypothesis that sustained activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)—a neural substrate of cognitive control—causally induces motivational fatigue via the accumulation of prefrontal glutamate metabolites. For this purpose, we combined brain stimulation with spectroscopy imaging to assess how increasing DLPFC excitability during an effortful mental task c