There is general agreement that both motivation and cognitive control play critical roles in shaping goal-directed behavior, but only recently has scientific interest focused around the question of motivation–control interactions. Here we briefly survey this literature, organizing contemporary findings around three issues: (1) whether motivation preferentially impacts cognitive control processes, (2) the neural mechanisms that underlie motivation–cognition interactions, and (3) why motivation might be relevant for overcoming the costs of control. Dopamine (DA) is discussed as a key neuromodulator in these motivation–cognition interactions. We conclude by highlighting open issues, specifically Pavlovian versus instrumental control distinctions and effects of motivational valence and conflict, which could benefit from future research attention.

人们普遍同意，动机和认知控制在塑造目标导向的行为中都起着至关重要的作用，但是直到最近，科学兴趣才集中在动机与控制的相互作用问题上。在这里，我们简要回顾一下这些文献，围绕三个问题组织当代的发现：（1）动机是否优先影响认知控制过程；（2）动机-认知相互作用的神经机制；以及（3）动机为何与克服认知障碍有关控制成本。多巴胺（DA）被认为是这些动机-认知相互作用中的关键神经调节剂。最后，我们着重强调未解决的问题，特别是巴甫洛夫式与工具控制的区别以及动机价和冲突的影响，这些可能会受益于未来的研究关注。