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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 7, 2026

An Automated T-maze Based Apparatus and Protocol for Analyzing Delay- and Effort-based Decision Making in Free Moving Rodents

An Automated T-maze Based Apparatus and Protocol for Analyzing Delay- and Effort-based Decision Making in Free Moving Rodents

Published on: August 2, 2018

Neural substrates underlying effort computation in schizophrenia.

Gagan Fervaha¹, George Foussias, Ofer Agid

¹Schizophrenia Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada; Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews

|September 17, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Schizophrenia patients show reduced effort, impacting daily life. This review explores neurobiology and research methods for better understanding effort-based decision-making in schizophrenia.

Keywords:

Amotivation Anterior cingulate cortex Apathy Avolition Cost-benefit decision making Dopamine Effort Motivation Negative symptoms Reward Schizophrenia

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Published on: August 13, 2020

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychiatry
Behavioral Science

Background:

Reduced initiative and effort in schizophrenia patients correlate with functional impairments.
Current assessments of effort and motivation in schizophrenia are limited by reliance on subjective recall.
Understanding the neurobiology of effort is crucial for developing targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

To review paradigms used in rodents and humans to assess effort-based decision-making.
To discuss the neurobiological underpinnings of effort-based decisions.
To explore current knowledge and future research directions regarding effort in schizophrenia.

Main Methods:

Literature review of behavioral neuroscience paradigms for assessing effort in rodents and humans.
Synthesis of neurobiological findings related to effort-based decisions.
Analysis of existing research on effort in schizophrenia and related human populations.

Main Results:

Established paradigms exist in behavioral neuroscience to quantify effort-based decisions in animal models and humans.
Neurobiological mechanisms underlying effort-based choices are being elucidated through various experimental approaches.
Limited but growing evidence suggests alterations in effort-related neurobiology may contribute to schizophrenia symptoms.

Conclusions:

More rigorous measurement of effort is needed to understand its neurobiology in schizophrenia.
Paradigms from animal models and human studies offer valuable tools for this investigation.
Future research should focus on the neurobiology of effort cost computation in schizophrenia to improve functional outcomes.