1
|
Rüterbories T, Mecklinger A, Eschmann KCJ, Crivelli-Decker J, Ranganath C, Gruber MJ. Curiosity Satisfaction Increases Event-related Potentials Sensitive to Reward. J Cogn Neurosci 2024; 36:888-900. [PMID: 38307129 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
Successful learning depends on various factors such as depth of processing, motivation, or curiosity about information. A strong drive to learn something or the expectation of receiving a reward can be crucial to enhance learning. However, the influence of curiosity on the processing of new information and its similarity with reward processing is not well understood. This study examined whether states of curiosity influence specific ERPs associated with reward processing and whether these ERPs are related with later memory benefits. In an initial screening phase, participants indicated their curiosity and confidence in prior knowledge about answers to various trivia questions. In a subsequent study phase, we targeted different time windows related to reward processing during the presentation of trivia answers containing the reward positivity (RewP; 250-350 msec), the P3 (250-500 msec), and the late-positive-potential (LPP; 600-1000 msec). In a following surprise memory test, we found that participants recalled more high- than low-curiosity answers. The RewP, P3, and LPP showed greater positive mean amplitudes for high compared with low curiosity, reflecting increased reward processing. In addition, we found that the RewP and the P3 showed more positive mean amplitudes for later recalled compared with later forgotten answers, but curiosity did not modulate this encoding-related results. These findings support the view that the satisfaction of curiosity resembles reward processing, indicated by ERPs.
Collapse
|
2
|
Prasad S, Hommel B. The Role of Stimulus Uncertainty and Curiosity in Attention Control. Exp Psychol 2024. [PMID: 38682782 DOI: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
Most cognitive psychological studies assume that participants in lab-based tasks maintain a single goal based on task instructions. However, people can be motivated by other factors, such as curiosity. We examined if people attend to seemingly task-irrelevant information out of curiosity by manipulating stimulus uncertainty in a cueing paradigm. Participants were presented with an abrupt-onset cue followed by a letter target (E or H). Next, a mask either at the target location (low uncertainty) or at all four locations (high uncertainty) was shown. We expected high uncertainty to induce a state of curiosity that in turn influences the processing of the cue. Cueing effects were greater in the high-uncertainty condition compared to the low-uncertainty condition. In Experiment 2, we additionally elicited self-report ratings on curiosity. In sum, target-specific uncertainty leads to greater processing of task-irrelevant peripheral cues across two experiments. We tentatively conclude that uncertainty modulates attention control and further research is necessary to examine if this is indeed due to curiosity induced by uncertainty.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Seema Prasad
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany
| | - Bernhard Hommel
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden, Germany
- School of Psychology, Shandong Normal University, Shandong, PR China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Yagi A, FitzGibbon L, Murayama K, Shinomori K, Sakaki M. Uncertainty drives exploration of negative information across younger and older adults. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 23:809-826. [PMID: 37100958 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-023-01082-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/28/2023]
Abstract
Although individuals generally avoid negative information, recent research documents that they voluntarily explore negative information to resolve uncertainty. However, it remains unclear (a) whether uncertainty facilitates exploration similarly when exploration is expected to lead to negative, neutral, or positive information, and (b) whether older adults seek negative information to reduce uncertainty like younger adults do. This study addresses the two issues across four experimental studies (N = 407). The results indicate that individuals are more likely to expose themselves to negative information when uncertainty is high. In contrast, when information was expected to be neutral or positive, the uncertainty surrounding it did not significantly alter individuals' exploration behavior. Furthermore, we found that uncertainty increased the exploration of negative information in both older and younger adults. In addition, both younger and older adults chose to explore negative information to reduce uncertainty, even when there were positive or neutral alternatives. In contrast to the age-related similarities in these behavioral measures, older adults demonstrated reduced scores in questionnaires on sensation seeking and curiosity, relative to their counterparts who were younger. These results suggest that information uncertainty has a selective facilitation effect on exploration for negative information and that normal aging does not alter this tendency, despite age-related reductions in self-reported measures of personality traits relevant to information seeking.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ayano Yagi
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Hiroshima Shudo University, Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Lily FitzGibbon
- Division of Psychology, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK
| | - Kou Murayama
- Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Kochi, Japan
| | - Keizo Shinomori
- Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Kochi, Japan
- School of Informatics, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Kochi, Japan
| | - Michiko Sakaki
- Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
- Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Kochi, Japan.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Clewett D, Dunsmoor J. Novel strategies for expanding memory's penumbra in aging. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:120-121. [PMID: 36517378 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.11.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David Clewett
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Joseph Dunsmoor
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA; Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Hollins TJ, Seabrooke T, Inkster A, Wills A, Mitchell CJ. Pre-testing effects are target-specific and are not driven by a generalised state of curiosity. Memory 2023; 31:282-296. [PMID: 36475537 DOI: 10.1080/09658211.2022.2153141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Guessing an answer to an unfamiliar question prior to seeing the answer leads to better memory than studying alone (the pre-testing effect), which some theories attribute to increased curiosity. A similar effect occurs in general knowledge learning: people are more likely to recall information that they were initially curious to learn. Gruber and Ranganath [(2019). How curiosity enhances hippocampus-dependent memory: The prediction, appraisal, curiosity, and exploration (PACE) framework. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 23(12), 1014-1025] argued that unanswered questions can cause a state of curiosity during which encoding is enhanced for the missing answer, but also for incidental information presented at the time. If pre-testing similarly induces curiosity, then it too should produce better memory for incidental information. We tested this idea in three experiments that varied the order, nature and timing of the incidental material presented within a pre-testing context. All three experiments demonstrated a reliable pre-testing effect for the targets, but no benefit for the incidental material presented before the target. This pattern suggests that the pre-testing effect is highly specific and is not consistent with a generalised state of curiosity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Tina Seabrooke
- School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Angus Inkster
- School of Psychology, University of Cardiff, Cardiff, UK
| | - Andy Wills
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Dimensions, Measures, and Contexts in Psychological Investigations of Curiosity: A Scoping Review. Behav Sci (Basel) 2022; 12:bs12120493. [PMID: 36546976 PMCID: PMC9774665 DOI: 10.3390/bs12120493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 11/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of curiosity as a construct has led to many conceptualisations, comprising of different dimensions. Due to this, various scales of curiosity have also been developed. Moreover, some researchers have conceived of curiosity as a general trait-like, while others have included contexts, such as the workplace, or education when investigating curiosity. This scoping review aims to scope the extant psychological literature on curiosity in order to better understand how it has been studied, specifically with regard to its dimensions, measures, and contexts. A total of 1194 records were identified, with 245 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Results suggest that the majority of curiosity research examined curiosity as having multiple dimensions and analysed the dimensions individually, with a deprivation-type curiosity playing the biggest role. The measure most commonly used was the Epistemic Curiosity Scale, which also consisted of a deprivation-type curiosity as one of the dimensions. Findings also implied that curiosity was most studied in the context of the workplace. Supplementary findings included a lack of representation of non-Western countries, as well as needing to cross-validate a recently developed curiosity scale. This scoping review represents a consolidation of the curiosity literature and how it can further prosper.
Collapse
|
7
|
Curiosity Killed the Cat but Not Memory: Enhanced Performance in High-Curiosity States. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12070846. [PMID: 35884653 PMCID: PMC9313209 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12070846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Curiosity benefits memory for target information and may also benefit memory for incidental information presented during curiosity states. However, it is not known whether incidental curiosity-enhanced memory depends on or is affected by the valence of the incidental information during curiosity states. Here, older and younger participants incidentally encoded unrelated face images (positive, negative, and neutral) while they anticipated answers to trivia questions. We found memory enhancements for answers to trivia questions and unrelated faces presented during high-curiosity compared with low-curiosity states in both younger and older adults. Interestingly, face valence did not modify memory for unrelated faces. This suggests processes associated with the elicitation of curiosity enhance memory for incidental information instead of valence.
Collapse
|
8
|
Lei L, Lu Y, Gan Q, Hu Z, Luo Y. Awareness and Perceptions of Palliative Care Among the Elderly: A Qualitative Study. J Palliat Care 2022; 37:204-212. [PMID: 35195464 DOI: 10.1177/08258597221082393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Objectives: With the rapidly aging population worldwide, the demand for palliative care is increasing. Palliative care publicity and education must be further developed globally, especially for the elderly. It is essential to perform targeted promotion by understanding the awareness and needs of palliative care of the elderly. This study aimed to investigate elderly people's awareness of palliative care and their own views on and needs for palliative care, which could provide a basis for the popularization of palliative care among them. Methods: A total of 20 elderly people were recruited to participate in the semi-structured, and in-depth interviews. Participants were from communities and nursing homes in Chongqing, China. The interview transcripts were coded using the method of thematic analysis. Results: Finally, 4 themes and 10 subthemes were identified, that is: unawareness of the concept of palliative care (never heard of palliative care, confusion between euthanasia and palliative care), motivations for accepting palliative care (personal perspective: less suffering; family perspective: relieving the burden), factors influencing palliative care decision (cost of palliative care, knowledge of palliative care, opinion of decision-making agents), and necessity and preferences for publicizing palliative care (eagerness to know more about palliative care, focusing on policy and charges, preference for Electronic Media Advertising). Conclusions: Palliative care publicity among the elderly is important and necessary. Findings in this study could provide some insights into how to popularize palliative care among the elderly. Considering the preference of the elderly for access to palliative care information, simultaneous publicity through TV and online channels is suggested. Since the elderly would like to choose their doctors and adult children as decision-making agents, more communication between community, health professionals and family is advocated.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lei Lei
- School of Nursing, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, P.R. China
| | - Ya Lu
- School of Nursing, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, P.R. China
| | - Quanxi Gan
- Southwest University Hospital, Chongqing, P.R. China
| | - Zongping Hu
- The Thirteenth Hospital of Chongqing, Chongqing, P.R. China
| | - Yu Luo
- School of Nursing, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, P.R. China
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Metcalfe J, Kennedy-Pyers T, Vuorre M. Curiosity and the desire for agency: wait, wait … don't tell me! COGNITIVE RESEARCH-PRINCIPLES AND IMPLICATIONS 2021; 6:69. [PMID: 34731342 PMCID: PMC8566623 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-021-00330-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Past research has shown that when people are curious they are willing to wait to get an answer if the alternative is to not get the answer at all—a result that has been taken to mean that people valued the answers, and interpreted as supporting a reinforcement-learning (RL) view of curiosity. An alternative 'need for agency' view is forwarded that proposes that when curious, people are intrinsically motivated to actively seek the answer themselves rather than having it given to them. If answers can be freely obtained at any time, the RL view holds that, because time delay depreciates value, people will not wait to receive the answer. Because they value items that they are curious about more than those about which they are not curious they should seek the former more quickly. In contrast, the need for agency view holds that in order to take advantage of the opportunity to obtain the answer by their own efforts, when curious, people may wait. Consistent with this latter view, three experiments showed that even when the answer could be obtained at any time, people spontaneously waited longer to request the answer when they were curious. Furthermore, rather than requesting the answer itself—a response that would have maximally reduced informational uncertainty—in all three experiments, people asked for partial information in the form of hints, when curious. Such active hint seeking predicted later recall. The 'need for agency' view of curiosity, then, was supported by all three experiments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Janet Metcalfe
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
| | - Treva Kennedy-Pyers
- Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA.,Department of Psychology, Suffolk University, Boston, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
10
|
Knowlton BJ, Castel AD. Memory and Reward-Based Learning: A Value-Directed Remembering Perspective. Annu Rev Psychol 2021; 73:25-52. [PMID: 34587778 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-032921-050951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The ability to prioritize valuable information is critical for the efficient use of memory in daily life. When information is important, we engage more effective encoding mechanisms that can better support retrieval. Here, we describe a dual-mechanism framework of value-directed remembering in which both strategic and automatic processes lead to differential encoding of valuable information. Strategic processes rely on metacognitive awareness of effective deep encoding strategies that allow younger and healthy older adults to selectively remember important information. In contrast, some high-value information may also be encoded automatically in the absence of intention to remember, but this may be more impaired in older age. These different mechanisms are subserved by different neural substrates, with left-hemisphere semantic processing regions active during the strategic encoding of high-value items, and automatic enhancement of encoding of high-value items may be supported by activation of midbrain dopaminergic projections to the hippocampal region. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Barbara J Knowlton
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA;
| | - Alan D Castel
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA;
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Cen D, Gkoumas C, Gruber MJ. Anticipation of novel environments enhances memory for incidental information. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2021; 28:254-259. [PMID: 34266990 PMCID: PMC8284314 DOI: 10.1101/lm.053392.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Novelty is a potent driver of learning, but little is known about whether anticipation of novelty can enhance memory for incidental information. Here, participants incidentally encountered objects while they actively navigated toward novel or previously familiarized virtual rooms. Across immediate and delayed surprise memory tests, participants showed superior recollection for incidental objects encountered while anticipating novel as compared with familiarized rooms. Furthermore, memory for incidental objects correlated positively with between-participants average curiosity about novel rooms but negatively with within-participants trial-specific curiosity. Our findings contribute to the growing literature on how salient processes impact memory for incidental material.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Danlu Cen
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Wales CF24 4HQ, United Kingdom
| | - Christos Gkoumas
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Wales CF24 4HQ, United Kingdom
| | - Matthias J Gruber
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Wales CF24 4HQ, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Singh A, Manjaly JA. The effect of information gap and uncertainty on curiosity and its resolution. JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/20445911.2021.1908311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Aditya Singh
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar, India
| | - Jaison A. Manjaly
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gandhinagar, India
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Ozono H, Komiya A, Kuratomi K, Hatano A, Fastrich G, Raw JAL, Haffey A, Meliss S, Lau JKL, Murayama K. Magic Curiosity Arousing Tricks (MagicCATs): A novel stimulus collection to induce epistemic emotions. Behav Res Methods 2021; 53:188-215. [PMID: 32651737 PMCID: PMC7880926 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-020-01431-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
There has been considerable interest in empirical research on epistemic emotions, i.e., emotions related to knowledge-generating qualities of cognitive tasks and activities such as curiosity, interest, and surprise. One big challenge when studying epistemic emotions is systematically inducting these emotions in restricted experimental settings. The current study created a novel stimulus set called Magic Curiosity Arousing Tricks (MagicCATs): a collection of 166 short magic trick video clips that aim to induce a variety of epistemic emotions. MagicCATs are freely available for research and can be used in a variety of ways to examine epistemic emotions. Rating data also support that the magic tricks elicit a variety of epistemic emotions with sufficient inter-stimulus variability, demonstrating good psychometric properties for their use in psychological experiments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hiroki Ozono
- Faculty of Law, Economics and Humanities, Kagoshima University, Korimoto, Kagoshima, 890-0065, Japan.
| | - Asuka Komiya
- Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan
| | - Kei Kuratomi
- Faculty of Psychology, Aichi Shukutoku University, Nagakute, Japan
| | - Aya Hatano
- Department of Cognitive Psychology in Education, Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Greta Fastrich
- School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Jasmine April Louise Raw
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Anthony Haffey
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Stefanie Meliss
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Johnny King L Lau
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK
| | - Kou Murayama
- Research Institute, Kochi University of Technology, Kochi, Japan.
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Earley Gate, Whiteknights, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Murphy C, Dehmelt V, Yonelinas AP, Ranganath C, Gruber MJ. Temporal proximity to the elicitation of curiosity is key for enhancing memory for incidental information. Learn Mem 2021; 28:34-39. [PMID: 33452112 PMCID: PMC7812865 DOI: 10.1101/lm.052241.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Curiosity states benefit memory for target information, but also incidental information presented during curiosity states. However, it is not known whether incidental curiosity-enhanced memory depends on when incidental information during curiosity states is encountered. Here, participants incidentally encoded unrelated face images at different time points while they anticipated answers to trivia questions. Across two experiments, we found memory enhancements for unrelated faces presented during high-curiosity compared with low-curiosity states, but only when presented shortly after a trivia question. This suggests processes associated with the elicitation of curiosity-but not sustained anticipation or the satisfaction of curiosity-enhance memory for incidental information.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Murphy
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Wales CF24 4HQ, United Kingdom
| | - Vera Dehmelt
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Wales CF24 4HQ, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew P Yonelinas
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA
| | - Charan Ranganath
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California at Davis, Davis, California 95616, USA
| | - Matthias J Gruber
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Wales CF24 4HQ, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
|
16
|
|
17
|
Fandakova Y, Gruber MJ. States of curiosity and interest enhance memory differently in adolescents and in children. Dev Sci 2020; 24:e13005. [PMID: 32524703 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2019] [Revised: 04/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/28/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Curiosity - broadly defined as the desire to acquire new information - enhances learning and memory in adults. In addition, interest in the information (i.e., when the information is processed) can also facilitate later memory. To date, it is not known how states of pre-information curiosity and post-information interest enhance memory in childhood and adolescence. We used a trivia paradigm in which children and adolescents (N = 60, 10-14 years) encoded trivia questions and answers associated with high or low curiosity. States of high pre-answer curiosity enhanced later memory for trivia answers in both children and adolescents. However, higher positive post-answer interest enhanced memory for trivia answers beyond the effects of curiosity more strongly in adolescents than in children. These results suggest that curiosity and interest have positive effects on learning and memory in childhood and adolescence, but might need to be harnessed in differential ways across child development to optimize learning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yana Fandakova
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany
| | - Matthias J Gruber
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, UK
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Gruber MJ, Ranganath C. How Curiosity Enhances Hippocampus-Dependent Memory: The Prediction, Appraisal, Curiosity, and Exploration (PACE) Framework. Trends Cogn Sci 2019; 23:1014-1025. [PMID: 31706791 PMCID: PMC6891259 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2019.10.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2018] [Revised: 09/06/2019] [Accepted: 10/07/2019] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Curiosity plays a fundamental role for learning and memory, but the neural mechanisms that stimulate curiosity and its effect on memory are poorly understood. Accumulating evidence suggests that curiosity states are related to modulations in activity in the dopaminergic circuit and that these modulations impact memory encoding and consolidation for both targets of curiosity and incidental information encountered during curiosity states. To account for this evidence, we propose the Prediction, Appraisal, Curiosity, and Exploration (PACE) framework, which attempts to explain curiosity and memory in terms of cognitive processes, neural circuits, behavior, and subjective experience. The PACE framework generates testable predictions that can stimulate future investigation of the mechanisms underlying curiosity-related memory enhancements.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthias J Gruber
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
| | - Charan Ranganath
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA; Psychology Department, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Behforuzi H, Feng NC, Billig AR, Ryan E, Tusch ES, Holcomb PJ, Mohammed AH, Daffner KR. Markers of Novelty Processing in Older Adults Are Stable and Reliable. Front Aging Neurosci 2019; 11:165. [PMID: 31316374 PMCID: PMC6611344 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2019.00165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2019] [Accepted: 06/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Exploratory behavior and responsiveness to novelty play an important role in maintaining cognitive function in older adults. Inferences about age- or disease-related differences in neural and behavioral responses to novelty are most often based on results from single experimental testing sessions. There has been very limited research on whether such findings represent stable characteristics of populations studied, which is essential if investigators are to determine the result of interventions aimed at promoting exploratory behaviors or draw appropriate conclusions about differences in the processing of novelty across diverse clinical groups. The goal of the current study was to investigate the short-term test-retest reliability of event-related potential (ERP) and behavioral responses to novel stimuli in cognitively normal older adults. ERPs and viewing durations were recorded in 70 healthy older adults participating in a subject-controlled visual novelty oddball task during two sessions occurring 7 weeks apart. Mean midline P3 amplitude and latency, mean midline amplitude during successive 50 ms intervals, temporospatial factors derived from principal component analysis (PCA), and viewing duration in response to novel stimuli were measured during each session. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed no reliable differences in the value of any measurements between Time 1 and 2. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) between Time 1 and 2 were excellent for mean P3 amplitude (ICC = 0.86), the two temporospatial factors consistent with the P3 components (ICC of 0.88 and 0.76) and viewing duration of novel stimuli (ICC = 0.81). Reliability was only fair for P3 peak latency (ICC = 0.56). Successive 50 ms mean amplitude measures from 100 to 1,000 ms yielded fair to excellent reliabilities, and all but one of the 12 temporospatial factors identified demonstrated ICCs in the good to excellent range. We conclude that older adults demonstrate substantial stability in ERP and behavioral responses to novel visual stimuli over a 7-week period. These results suggest that older adults may have a characteristic way of processing novelty that appears resistant to transient changes in their environment or internal states, which can be indexed during a single testing session. The establishment of reliable measures of novelty processing will allow investigators to determine whether proposed interventions have an impact on this important aspect of behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hura Behforuzi
- Laboratory of Healthy Cognitive Aging, Department of Neurology, Center for Brain/Mind Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Nicole C. Feng
- Laboratory of Healthy Cognitive Aging, Department of Neurology, Center for Brain/Mind Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Adam R. Billig
- Laboratory of Healthy Cognitive Aging, Department of Neurology, Center for Brain/Mind Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Eliza Ryan
- Laboratory of Healthy Cognitive Aging, Department of Neurology, Center for Brain/Mind Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Erich S. Tusch
- Laboratory of Healthy Cognitive Aging, Department of Neurology, Center for Brain/Mind Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Phillip J. Holcomb
- Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Abdul H. Mohammed
- Department of Psychology, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Neurogeriatrics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Kirk R. Daffner
- Laboratory of Healthy Cognitive Aging, Department of Neurology, Center for Brain/Mind Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Stare CJ, Gruber MJ, Nadel L, Ranganath C, Gómez RL. Curiosity-driven memory enhancement persists over time but does not benefit from post-learning sleep. Cogn Neurosci 2018; 9:100-115. [PMID: 30124373 DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2018.1513399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Sleep-dependent memory processing is dependent on several factors at learning, including emotion, encoding strength, and knowledge of future relevance. Recent work documents the role of curiosity on learning, showing that memory associated with high-curiosity encoding states is retained better and that this effect may be driven by activity within the dopaminergic circuit. Here, we examined whether this curiosity effect was enhanced by or dependent on sleep-related consolidation. Participants learned the answers to trivia questions that they had previously rated on a curiosity scale, and they were shown faces between each question and answer presentation. Memory for these answers and faces was tested either immediately or after a 12-hour delay containing sleep or wakefulness, and polysomnography data was collected for a subset of the sleep participants. Although the curiosity effect for both the answers and incidentally-learned faces was replicated in immediate tests and after the 12-hour delay, the effect was not impacted by the presence of sleep in either case, nor did the effect show a relationship with total sleep time or time in slow-wave sleep. This study suggests that curiosity may be a learning factor that is not subsequently affected by sleep-dependent memory consolidation, but more work ought to examine the role of sleep on curiosity-driven memory in other contexts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthias J Gruber
- b School of Psychology, Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC) , Cardiff University , Cardiff , UK
| | - Lynn Nadel
- a Psychology , The University of Arizona , Tucson , AZ , USA
| | | | - Rebecca L Gómez
- a Psychology , The University of Arizona , Tucson , AZ , USA
| |
Collapse
|