Cited by 44Psychological and Educational Research StudiesMemory and Neural MechanismsNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Curiosity: primate neural circuits for novelty and information seeking

Monosov, Ilya E.·2024·Nature Reviews Neuroscience

Abstract

For many years, neuroscientists have investigated the behavioural, computational and neurobiological mechanisms that support value-based decisions, revealing how humans and animals make choices to obtain rewards. However, many decisions are influenced by factors other than the value of physical rewards or second-order reinforcers (such as money). For instance, animals (including humans) frequently explore novel objects that have no intrinsic value solely because they are novel and they exhibit the desire to gain information to reduce their uncertainties about the future, even if this information cannot lead to reward or assist them in accomplishing upcoming tasks. In this Review, I discuss how circuits in the primate brain responsible for detecting, predicting and assessing novelty and uncertainty regulate behaviour and give rise to these behavioural components of curiosity. I also briefly discuss how curiosity-related behaviours arise during postnatal development and point out some important reasons for the persistence of curiosity across generations.

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Crossref · 10.1038/s41583-023-00784-9

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Authors
Monosov, I. E.
Affiliations
Washington University in St. Louis (US)
Corresponding author
Monosov, Ilya E.
Venue
Nature Reviews Neuroscience
Published
2024-01-23
Volume
25
Issue
3
Pages
195-208
ISSN
  • 1471-003X (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-0048
OpenAlex
W4391133130
Cited by
44
References
186
Citations by year
2026: 20 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 5
FWCI
3.24
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Nature reviews. Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychological and Educational Research Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
curiosity, information seeking, novelty detection, uncertainty, novel object exploration, postnatal development, value-based decision making
MeSH terms
Animals, Brain, Exploratory Behavior, Humans, Primates, Reward, Uncertainty, Information Seeking Behavior

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