Figure 4.

Effects of ACC inactivations on the rodent cognitive effort task. (a) Infusion of baclofen–muscimol into the ACC decreased all animals' preference for the HR option (inactivation: F_{1, 24}=6.178, p=0.020; inactivation × group: F_{1, 24}=1.572, NS). (b) ACC inactivation had virtually no effect on accuracy, with a significant inactivation by choice interaction but not significantly increasing or decreasing LR or HR when considered alone (inactivation: F_{1, 24}=0.023, NS; inactivation × choice: F_{1, 24}=4.671, p=0.041; inactivation × choice × group=3.918, p=0.059; LR, workers only—inactivation: F_{1, 9}=4.977, p=0.053; LR/HR/HR workers/LR slackers/HR slackers—inactivation: all Fs<2.962, NS). (c) For all animals, inactivation of the ACC increased premature responding for both trial types (inactivation: F_{1, 24}=9.718, p=0.005; group/inactivation × choice/inactivation × choice × group: all Fs<1.891, NS). (d) ACC inactivation had no effect on the latency to choose between LR and HR levers (inactivation/inactivation × choice: all Fs<1.938, NS). Data are shown as the mean percent (a–c) or mean time in seconds (d) for each variable (±SEM).