In the October issue of Neuron, a study was published that suggests our brain’s chemistry changes when we become curious and that it assists in learning and retaining information. The study had 19 participants who were asked to review more than 100 trivia questions. Participants rated the questions by how interested they were to learn the answer. The participants’ brain activity was monitored using an MRI machine while they reviewed the questions and answers. When the participants’ interest was piqued, the pleasure and reward centers of the brain lit up. Additionally, the individuals who were more curious resulted in increased activity in their hippocampus, which is involved in the creation of memories. Our brains have a basic circuit that is positively reinforcing when individuals obtain things that are rewarding. Therefore, the same circuits light up when we are curious as when we receive money or dessert. When this circuit is activated our brains release a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which gives us a high. Dopamine is also involved in strengthening connections involved in learning. The study results indicate that the participants who were more curious were more likely to remember the right answers when tested at a later date. An additional finding showed that curiosity helps us to learn boring information. Throughout the experiment, the researchers would display random faces to the participants without an explanation. Those participants, whose interest was already piqued, were also better at remembering the faces.
Gruber, M.J., Gelman, B.D. & Ranganath, C. (2014). States of curiosity modulate hippocampus-dependent learning via the dopaminergic circuit. Neuron, 84 (2), 486 – 496