In a good or a bad mood, focused or distracted, in dire or no need: our internal states directly influence our perceptions and decision-making. While the role of motivation on the performance of behavioral tasks has been known for more than a century — thanks to the work of psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dilligham Dodson — its precise effect on the brain remains unclear. A team has now revealed how motivation alters the neural circuits responsible for sensory perception preceding decision-making in mice.