Time Pressure Modulates the Effects of Reward and Punishment on Working Memory for Non-Semantic Characters: Evidence from fMRI

Although prior studies have demonstrated that reward- and punishment-related cues enhance task engagement, it remains unclear whether such motivational effects vary as a function of time pressure and how they are instantiated at the neural level.

To address these questions, the present study employed an encoding–test working memory task with non-semantic characters as stimuli, manipulated time pressure and reward/punishment conditions, and combined behavioral measures with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine the neural mechanisms underlying the effects of time pressure and reward/punishment anticipation on working memory.