Performance-related feedback is an important part of effortful learning,
as information about correct responses and errors can motivate
learners to adapt their behaviors. Such feedback engages the striatum,
widely regarded as a key region for processing reward-related information,
even in the absence of extrinsically rewarding or punishing outcomes
(e.g., Daniel and Pollmann, 2010; Satterthwaite et al., 2012;
Tricomi et al., 2006). However, the affective experience of performancerelated
feedback may be more or less salient depending upon one's
motivation to successfully complete the task. For example, positive performance
feedback may be more reinforcing for a student who values
scholastic achievement than for one who sees academics as irrelevant
to his or her goals. As a result, it is likely that striatal engagement during
feedback processing would be modulated by an individual's motivation
to perform well.