SFB 940: Volition and Cognitive Control: Mechanisms, Modulators and Dysfunctions

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The aim of the CRC is to elucidate cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the volitional control of goa-directed action as well as to investigate impairments of self-control. The ability to exert volitional control over one’s actions is a precondition for personal autonomy and one of the most impressive yet least under-stood capacities our brains endow us with. Conversely, impairments of volitional self-control are a charac-teristic of many harmful behaviors such as unhealthy eating habits, substance use, and behavioral addic-tions, which are associated with massive adverse consequences for individuals and great societal costs. The CRC thus addresses not only one of the major scientific challenges for basic research in psychological and neuroscience, but also a topic of high social relevance. Our research program rests on an integrative theoretical framework, according to which volitional control rests on dynamic interactions between multiple neurocognitive systems. Based on this framework, the three project groups address the following key ques-tions.(A) Mechanisms. Which cognitive mechanisms and neural systems underlie the volitional control of goal-directed actions, the flexible adaptation of behavior to changing goals and environments, and the ability to exert self-control (i.e., to inhibit impulsive responses and transient desires in favor of long-term goals)? (B) Modulators. How are volitional control processes modulated by motivational factors, personality traits, stress, and associated neurotransmitter systems, and how do these systems change across the lifespan? (C) Dysfunctions. What are underlying mechanisms of impaired volitional control in mental disorders such as substance use disorders, behavioral addictions, anorexia nervosa, and compulsivity?The CRC integrates a wide range of methods from experimental and biological psychology, cognitive com-putational, and social neuroscience, as well as clinical psychology, psychiatry, and developmental neuro-science. Based on a rich set of new empirical findings and theoretical insights from previous funding peri-ods, in the new funding period we will put particular emphasis on three aims that cut across the three project groups: (i) the integration of the hitherto neglected role of social-cognitive processes in volitional control; (ii) the use fo novel technologies to bridge the gap between laboratory experiments and assessments of real-life behavior; and (iii) the development of computational models of cognitive control. Thereby, we expect the CRC to lay foundations for improved prevention and treatment of self-control impairments (in coopera-tion with the CRC/TRR 265), to promote the transfer of insights into cognitive control into the field of man-machine-interaction (in cooperation with the Cluster of Excellence CeTI), as well as to set new impulses for philosophical and societal discourses on autonomy, rationality, and responsibility.