January is motivation month as many of us resolve to do
better, especially to lose weight. Two
behavior change resolutions come to mind, eat less and exercise more. Dieting aside, how do we sustain an exercise
habit “after the thrill is gone?”
Cognitive neuroscience provides one answer. We will wade out into the weeds for a moment
and then come back to reality. The
exercise mode of choice is the daily walk.
Sustaining the exercise response involves rewards. Given that most exercise including walking is
perceived by the body as hard work, right away walking is negatively
reinforced. Unfortunately for many of
us, techniques that produce positive reinforcement have a short shelf life,
i.e. walking with friends, nature walks, novelty, varied walking routes. Friends are unreliable; nature walks lose
their novelty; and there are only so many ways to vary walking routes. Worse, early success in weight loss too
quickly plateaus.
What does neuroscience say?
Purposeful responses (such as a long walk) are tied to reward mechanisms
by neurotransmitters called dopamine. The
most prominent target for the dopamine stimulation is the ventral striatum (VS),
one of the evolutionarily primitive regions of the brain. Some have called it the reward center of the
brain. Using fMRI scanners, neuroscientists can measure how
stimulation effects the ventral striatum, and since the VS wants to be stimulated, higher brain
centers feel a sense of pleasure when the VS is positively stimulated. Not surprisingly, novelty is one very powerful
VS stimulator. So is acquiring money.
The reason that most
motivation programs fail is related to the goal of expectation and that is
the problem in using novelty as the basis of a motivation system to sustain the
habit of walking. Scientific studies using fMRI scanners have
shown that when reward is entirely expected on the basis of the preceding cue,
the neurons do not respond to the reward.
In terms of novelty and walking, once we have seen the interesting
sights a few times, the neurons stop exciting the ventral striatum; same with
friends, same with varying the route.
The brain says, “I don’t give a darn, I’ve seen that already.”
First, applaud
the ones with a strong sense of intrinsic motivation. They can continue their walking program
because it’s the right thing to do. But
those folks are not the ones that are making New Year’s resolutions to lose
weight. For the rest of us we need to
develop a motivation system that keeps the ventral striatum happy. For me, it is the endless thrill of finding
money left behind. In different amounts
and in different places, it is always waiting to be found by the vigilant
walker.
The MoneyWalker
