There has been increasing evidence that dopamine function is important for both cognitive and motivational function across the adult life span. In my work, I have aimed to use multi-modal neuroimaging tools, such as fMRI and PET, to understand the complex relationships between aging, neuromodulation, cognition, and motivation.
In general, people tend to avoid engaging in cognitively effortful activities. This tendency is often exacerbated in older adults despite the hypothesized benefits of cognitively effortful activities in helping to promote cognitive health and well-being in older age.
In recent years, there has been growing interest in characterizing how motivation interacts with cognitive control to promote goal-directed behavior. My work has examined how multiple incentive types (e.g., liquid, social, monetary) influence motivational processing and how this changes across the adult life span.