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Abstract
Tenacity--persistence in the face of challenge--has received increasing attention,
particularly because it contributes to better academic achievement, career opportunities
and health outcomes. We review evidence from non-human primate neuroanatomy and structural
and functional neuroimaging in humans suggesting that the anterior mid cingulate cortex
(aMCC) is an important network hub in the brain that performs the cost/benefit computations
necessary for tenacity. Specifically, we propose that its position as a structural
and functional hub allows the aMCC to integrate signals from diverse brain systems
to predict energy requirements that are needed for attention allocation, encoding
of new information, and physical movement, all in the service of goal attainment.
We review and integrate research findings from studies of attention, reward, memory,
affect, multimodal sensory integration, and motor control to support this hypothesis.
We close by discussing the implications of our framework for educational achievement,
exercise and eating disorders, successful aging, and neuropsychiatric disorders such
as depression and dementia.