The reward after-effect of effort expenditure refers to the phenomenon that previous effort investment changes the subjective value of rewards when obtained. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the after-effects of effort exertion are still not fully understood. We investigated the modulation of reward after-effects by effort type (cognitive vs. physical) through the lens of neural dynamics. Thirty-two participants performed a physically or cognitively demanding task during an effort phase and then played a simple gambling game during a subsequent reward phase to earn monetary rewards while their electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. We found that previous effort expenditure decreased electrocortical activity during feedback evaluation. Importantly, this effort effect occurred in a domain-general manner during the early stage (as indexed by the reward positivity) but in a domain-specific manner during the later and more elaborative stage (as indexed by the P3 and delta oscillation) of reward evaluation. Additionally, effort expenditure enhanced P3 sensitivity to feedback valence regardless of effort type. Our findings suggest that cognitive and physical effort, although bearing some surface resemblance to each other, may have dissociable neural influences on the reward after-effects.

努力支出的报酬后效是指先前的努力投入改变了报酬获得时的主观价值的现象。然而，努力后遗症的神经机制仍未完全了解。我们通过神经动力学的视角研究了努力类型（认知与身体）对奖励后效应的调节。32 名参与者在努力阶段执行了一项体力或认知要求较高的任务，然后在随后的奖励阶段玩了一个简单的赌博游戏，以获得金钱奖励，同时记录了他们的脑电图 (EEG)。我们发现，之前的努力支出在反馈评估过程中减少了皮层电活动。重要的是，这种努力效应在早期阶段（以奖励积极性为指标）以领域通用的方式发生，但在奖励的后期和更精细的阶段（以 P3 和 Delta 振荡为指标）以特定领域的方式发生。评估。此外，无论努力类型如何，努力支出都会增强 P3 对反馈效价的敏感性。我们的研究结果表明，认知和体力努力虽然表面上彼此相似，但可能对奖励后效产生可分离的神经影响。