Motivational Neuroscience: A New Paradigm Centered on Motivation-Driven Global Neural Remodeling

Motivational neuroscience, as a broad interdisciplinary field, has traditionally focused on the neural substrates of motivated behavior, such as reward processing, effort-based decision making, and goal-directed action circuits. However, a fundamental question has long been overlooked: Can intrinsic motivation itself serve as an active driver of neuroplasticity, triggering global circuit reorganization in the adult human brain? Based on the novel Motivation-Driven Global Neural Remodeling (MGNR) hypothesis, this paper proposes a new paradigm for motivational neuroscience. This paradigm takes the MGNR hypothesis as its theoretical cornerstone, integrating motivational psychology and neuroplasticity research to elucidate how sustained intrinsic motivation, through top-down neuromodulatory mechanisms, lowers the activation threshold of silent synapses and initiates large-scale network reconfiguration. We systematically define the scope, core theories, research levels, key scientific questions. This framework addresses an underexplored area in the study of spontaneous adult neural remodeling and provides a theoretical foundation for future empirical research and translational applications.