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The Wick in the Candle of Learning: Epistemic Curiosity Activates Reward Circuitry and Enhances Memory
Abstract
Curiosity has been described as a desire for learning and knowledge, but its underlying mechanisms are not well understood. We scanned subjects with functional magnetic resonance imaging while they read trivia questions. The level of curiosity when reading questions was correlated with activity in caudate regions previously suggested to be involved in anticipated reward. This finding led to a behavioral study, which showed that subjects spent more scarce resources (either limited tokens or waiting time) to find out answers when they were more curious. The functional imaging also showed that curiosity increased activity in memory areas when subjects guessed incorrectly, which suggests that curiosity may enhance memory for surprising new information. This prediction about memory enhancement was confirmed in a behavioral study: Higher curiosity in an initial session was correlated with better recall of surprising answers 1 to 2 weeks later.
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“M. J. Kang, Hsu, Krajbich, Loewenstein, McClure, Wang, and Camerer (2009) found that the higher participants rated their curiosity about a question answered incorrectly, the more likely they were to recall the correct answer on a surprise test two weeks later.”
From The benefit of generating errors during learning (2014) · cites this paper as M. J. Kang, Hsu, Krajbich, Loewenstein, McClure, Wang, and Camerer (2009)
In the citing paper
“Curiosity has been shown to follow an inverted-U-shaped function of confidence in the prediction (e.g., Kang et al., 2009).”
From Predicting as a learning strategy (2021) · cites this paper as Kang et al., 2009
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Curiosity in childhood and adolescence — what can we learn from the brain
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“It is also in accordance with studies such as in [24], where authors show that states of curiosity can enhance learning and memory retention.”
ResultGossip information increases reward-related oscillatory activity
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“However, consideration of motivational value is important with regard to the VWFA, as humans also have inherent drives to communicate and process information (Kang et al., 2009).”
BackgroundGruber, M. J., Valji, A., & Ranganath, C. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316823279.018 · Cited by 55
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“For example, one of the learning/affective articles concerned the educational implications of psychological studies of curiosity (Kang et al., 2009).”
BackgroundCuriosity Is Contagious: A Social Influence Intervention to Induce Curiosity
Dubey, R., Mehta, H., & Lombrozo, T. (2021) · Cognitive Science · doi:10.1111/cogs.12937 · Cited by 37
If it's important, then I’m curious: Increasing perceived usefulness stimulates curiosity
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“successfully filling these gaps to sate D-type curiosity is highly rewarding (Gruber, Gelman, & Ranganath, 2014; Kang et al., 2009; Litman et al., 2005; Loewenstein, 1994).”
BackgroundHalamish, V., Madmon, I., & Moed, A. (2019) · Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) · doi:10.1027/1618-3169/a000455 · Cited by 42
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“…one particularly interesting line of evidence shows that self-reported curiosity tracks the activation of the caudate nucleus and the inferior frontal gyrus, both key players in the human reward circuit, whose function is heavily dependent on the neurotransmitter dopamine (Kang et al., 2009).”
InfluentialA selective effect of dopamine on information-seeking
Vellani, V., de Vries, L. P., Gaule, A., & Sharot, T. (2020) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.59152 · Cited by 34
“For example, investors monitor their portfolio more frequently when they expect their worth has gone up rather than down (Karlsson et al., 2009); some people refuse to receive results of medical tests for fear of bad news (Hertwig and Engel, 2016); and monkeys prefer to know in advance the size of…”
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“Renninger and Hidi ( 2022a, 2022b ) also indicated that personal relevance to the content was essential in eliciting information search, which activated reward circuitry and might further increase learn - ers’ interest (Kang et al., 2009 ).”
Testing the Information‐Seeking Theory of Openness/Intellect
Jach, H. K., & Smillie, L. D. (2020) · European Journal of Personality · doi:10.1002/per.2271 · Cited by 36
“Many studies have shown that state curiosity predicts paying a cost to see answers to trivia questions (Gruber et al., 2014; Kang et al., 2009; Ligneul et al., 2018; Marvin & Shohamy, 2016), but no study has assessed if state curiosity relates to trait curiosity or openness/intellect or how this…”
InfluentialSzumowska, E., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2020) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.06.008 · Cited by 46
The Pleasurable Urge to Move to Music Through the Lens of Learning Progress
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When ignorance is bliss: The role of curiosity in online games adoption
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“Affective experiences can range from frustration at not finding specific information to pleasure at the excitement of learning something new.(61,62) Substantial research has been done on identifying the information needs of clinicians and building tools to assist them (eg, Infobuttons).”
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“As activation in the dopaminergic circuit increases phasic dopamine release in the hippocampal memory system (Lisman and Grace 2005; Kang et al. 2009; Rossato et al. 2009; Düzel et al. 2010; Shohamy and Adcock 2010), we theorize that curiosity-enhanced memory for incidental information will be…”
InfluentialNeuroscientific and Psychological Approaches to Incentives
Murayama, K. (2019) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781316823279.008 · Cited by 31
“Gruber et al. (2014) showed that the state of curiosity induced by trivia questions enhanced long-lasting memory for irrelevant materials (i.e., face pictures), and this effect was mediated by activation in the reward network (Kang et al., 2009).”
Cultural Attraction in Film Evolution: the Case of Anachronies
Sobchuk, O., & Tinits, P. (2020) · Journal of Cognition and Culture · doi:10.1163/15685373-12340082 · Cited by 29
The effect of information gap and uncertainty on curiosity and its resolution
Singh, A., & Manjaly, J. A. (2021) · Journal of Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1080/20445911.2021.1908311 · Cited by 29
“In studies by Kang et al. (2009) and Litman et al. (2005), for example, the information gap is the expected answer (“Luther”) to a trivia question (“what is the last name of the man who began the Reformation in Germany”), and is usually a single concept or proposition that satisfies the constraints…”
BackgroundResultInfluentialEvidence-based scientific thinking and decision-making in everyday life
Dawson, C., Julku, H., Pihlajamäki, M., Kaakinen, J. K., Schooler, J. W., & Simola, J. (2024) · Cognitive Research Principles and Implications · doi:10.1186/s41235-024-00578-2 · Cited by 61
“Curiosity is considered to be an important driver for learning as it is associated with enhanced memory for information and better learning outcomes (Gruber & Ranganath, 2019; Gruber et al., 2014; Kang et al., 2009; Mead et al., 2018; Metcalfe et al., 2020).”
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“…1999; Dawes, 1999; Hertwig and Ortmann, 2001; Rosenstock et al, 1988; Lopes, 1994; Zwick et al, 1999), it might improve memory to return the form (Kang et al, 2009; Marteau, 2010) or there may be a role for the fear of missing out (FOMO) on something that one’s friends are experiencing…”
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“Epistemic curiosity (EC), defined as the drive to seek information and eliminate gaps in knowledge, is considered an essential predisposition for learning complex skills (Kang et al., 2009; von Stumm et al., 2011).”
Understanding exploration in humans and machines by formalizing the function of curiosity
Dubey, R., & Griffiths, T. L. (2020) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2020.07.008 · Cited by 28
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“Curiosity has been shown to be instrumental in helping us to remember, since curiosity enhances memory for novel information (Kang et al., 2009).”
Risk factors associated with curiosity about alcohol use in the ABCD cohort
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Culture in Mind – An Enactivist Account
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Shocking secret you won’t believe! Emotional arousal in clickbait headlines
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Homo Ignorans: Deliberately Choosing Not to Know
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Animals in flow – towards the scientific study of intrinsic reward in animals
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Tip-of-the-tongue states predict enhanced feedback processing and subsequent memory.
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Self-citationMusic modulates emotional responses in growing pigs
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A Classroom-Based Study on the Antecedents of Epistemic Curiosity in L2 Learning
Nakamura, S., Reinders, H., & Darasawang, P. (2022) · Journal of Psycholinguistic Research · doi:10.1007/s10936-022-09839-x · Cited by 30
Curiosity enhances incidental object encoding in 8-month-old infants
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Arousing Curiosity: When Hospital Art Transcends
Rollins, J. A. (2011) · HERD Health Environments Research & Design Journal · doi:10.1177/193758671100400306 · Cited by 25
“Kang et al. (2009) describe two domains of curiosity and propose the likelihood that curiosity works differently in these dissimilar domains.”
Early Research: A Strategy for Inclusion and Student Success
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Feeling-of-knowing experiences breed curiosity
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“Although experiments on the impact of curiosity on learning have often included ratings of curiosity (e.g., Gruber et al., 2014; Kang et al., 2009; Metcalfe et al., 2017), we argue that in order to assess curiosity an examination of information-seeking behaviour is sufficient, and no additional…”
InfluentialThe interaction of curiosity and reward on long-term memory in younger and older adults.
Swirsky, L. T., Shulman, A., & Spaniol, J. (2021) · Psychology and Aging · doi:10.1037/pag0000623 · Cited by 28
Curiosity evolves as information unfolds
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Effects of Problem‐Based Learning on Motivation, Interest, and Learning
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Supportive hand-holding attenuates pupillary responses to stress in adult couples
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Curiosity and the desire for agency: wait, wait … don’t tell me!
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“…had been more curious, as is often observed (Bloom et al., 2018; Fastrich et al., 2018; Galli et al., 2018; Grossnickle, 2016; Gruber et al., 2014; Kang et al., 2009; Lau et al., 2020; Loewenstein, 1994; McGillivray et al., 2015; Metcalfe et al., 2017; Stare et al., 2018; Von Stumm et al.,…”
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Using curiosity to incentivize the choice of “should” options
Polman, E., Ruttan, R. L., & Peck, J. (2022) · Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes · doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2022.104192 · Cited by 18
Sensitivity to intrinsic rewards is domain general and related to mental health
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A Curiosity-Based Learning Method for Spiking Neural Networks
Shi, M., Zhang, T., & Zeng, Y. (2020) · Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fncom.2020.00007 · Cited by 22
“Motivation: Curiosity has been described as a desire for learning and knowledge, especially what is unknown (Kang et al., 2009).”
BackgroundLavoie, R. V., & Main, K. (2022) · European Journal of Marketing · doi:10.1108/ejm-05-2019-0415 · Cited by 25
Mumtaz, I., Ayaz, M. O., Khan, M. S., Manzoor, U., Ganayee, M. A., Bhat, A. Q., Dar, G. H., Alghamdi, B. S. A., Hashem, A. M., Dar, M. J., et al. (2022) · Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnagi.2022.977411 · Cited by 23
“, Aβ in the brain are regulated by circadian rhythms and the sleep-wake cycle (Kang et al., 2009).”
BackgroundViolations of physical and psychological expectations in the human adult brain
Liu, S., Lydic, K. O., Mei, L., & Saxe, R. R. (2024) · Imaging Neuroscience · doi:10.1162/imag_a_00068 · Cited by 27
Neural mechanisms of information seeking
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Communicating online information via streaming video: the role of user goal
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Experienced entropy drives choice behavior in a boring decision-making task
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Curiosity and mesolimbic functional connectivity drive information seeking in real life
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Selective effects of errorful generation on recognition memory: the role of motivation and surprise
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“This result is akin to Potts et al.'s (2018) recent demonstration that guessing the definition of unfamiliar words can increase participants’ curiosity to learn those definitions (see also Gruber, Gelman, & Ranganath, 2014; Kang et al., 2009).”
A database of general knowledge question performance in older adults
Coane, J. H., & Umanath, S. (2021) · Behavior Research Methods · doi:10.3758/s13428-020-01493-2 · Cited by 23
Han, M., & Gutierez, S. B. (2021) · Science Education · doi:10.1002/sce.21665 · Cited by 22
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“Furthermore, curiosity (Gruber et al., 2014; Kang et al., 2009; Kidd & Hayden, 2015) and choice (Cockburn et al.”
The evolution of human music in light of increased prosocial behavior: a new model
Nikolsky, A., & Benítez‐Burraco, A. (2023) · Physics of Life Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.plrev.2023.11.016 · Cited by 34
Electrophysiological evidence for the importance of interpersonalcuriosity
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“Kang et al. (2009) tried to explore the neural mechanisms of epistemic curiosity using fMRI.”
InfluentialWe should pay more attention to student curiosity
Cain, J. J. (2019) · Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning · doi:10.1016/j.cptl.2019.03.001 · Cited by 27
People’s naïve belief about curiosity and interest: A qualitative study
Aslan, S., Fastrich, G. M., Donnellan, E., Jones, D. J. W., & Murayama, K. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0256632 · Cited by 21
“Our research is in line with previous studies that investigate curiosity and interest in terms of willingness to spend cognitive resources learning new information [75], as the main human motivation for learning [9] and academic performance across different learning environments [76].”
ResultRemoving financial incentives demotivates the brain
Camerer, C. F. (2010) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1016108107 · Cited by 20
Self-citationExploring video games that invoke curiosity
Gómez-Maureira, M. A., & Kniestedt, I. (2019) · Entertainment Computing · doi:10.1016/j.entcom.2019.100320 · Cited by 19
“As a result, there is growing interest in the applied use of what has been learned about curiosity, such as to improve teaching methods [7, 8] and the design of video games [9, 10].”
Gustafsson, E. (2022) · The Journal of Creative Behavior · doi:10.1002/jocb.565 · Cited by 22
Gold, B. P., Pearce, M. T., McIntosh, A. R., Chang, C., Dagher, A., & Zatorre, R. J. (2023) · Frontiers in Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1209398 · Cited by 19
“…non-instrumental information – i.e., that which they cannot necessarily use to gain future rewards – such as answers to trivia questions or the probability that a predetermined reward is en route (Bromberg-Martin and Hikosaka, 2009; Kang et al., 2009; Bennett et al., 2016; Brydevall et al., 2018).”
BackgroundInfluentialConcetti, C., Viskaitis, P., Grujic, N., Duss, S. N., Privitera, M., Bohacek, J., Peleg‐Raibstein, D., & Burdakov, D. (2024) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0015-24.2024 · Cited by 23
“…to humans, since these spontaneous acts of exploratory behavior (henceforth, simply rearing or rears) in rodents are considered analogous to human acts of curiosity and exploration (Dielenberg and McGregor, 2001; Lever et al., 2006; Kang et al., 2008; Mun et al., 2015; Lay fi eld et al., 2023).”
BackgroundAI Detection of Human Understanding in a Gen-AI Tutor
Woodruff, E. (2024) · AI · doi:10.3390/ai5020045 · Cited by 23
Adaptive Memory: Independent Effects of Survival Processing and Reward Motivation on Memory
Forester, G., Kroneisen, M., Erdfelder, E., & Kamp, S. (2020) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2020.588100 · Cited by 21
“…the first question, there is evidence that intrinsic and extrinsic forms of motivation affect very similar neural and cognitive mechanisms (e.g., Kang et al., 2009; Düzel et al., 2010; Gruber et al., 2014; but see Duan et al., 2020), and that their effects on incidental learning are not…”
BackgroundDynamic Representation of the Subjective Value of Information
Kobayashi, K., Lee, S., Filipowicz, A. L. S., McGaughey, K. D., Kable, J. W., & Nassar, M. R. (2021) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.0423-21.2021 · Cited by 17
Independent and interacting value systems for reward and information in the human brain
Dezza, I. C., Axel Cleeremans, B., & Alexander, W. H. (2022) · eLife · doi:10.7554/elife.66358 · Cited by 23
“…the opportunity to gain information relies on similar neural circuitry as the opportunity to gain rewards ( Bromberg-Martin and Hikosaka, 2009 ; Kang et al., 2009 ; Kobayashi and Hsu, 2019 ; Charpentier et al., 2018 ; Smith et al., 2016 ; Bromberg-Martin and Hikosaka, 2011 ; Tricomi and Fiez,…”
Roadmap of Designing Cognitive Metrics for Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI)
Hsiao, J. H.-W., Ngai, H. H. T., Qiu, L., Yang, Y., & Cao, C. C. (2021) · arXiv · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2108.01737 · Cited by 45
“People are least curious when there is little or excessive information, and they are most curious when there is moderate amount of information (Kang et al., 2009).”
Gendron, M., Mesquita, B., & Barrett, L. F. (2020) · Culture, Mind, and Brain · doi:10.1017/9781108695374.010 · Cited by 20
Shin, D. D. (2024) · Educational Psychology · doi:10.1080/01443410.2024.2372302 · Cited by 24
“First, curiosity brings about active pursuit, better regulation, and greater attainment of one’s learning (e.g. Gottlieb & Oudeyer, 2018; Kang et al., 2009).”
Elizabeth Hamilton's Scottish Associationism: Early Nineteenth-Century Philosophy of Mind
Gokcekus, S. (2019) · Journal of the American Philosophical Association · doi:10.1017/apa.2019.2 · Cited by 18
Functional connectivity mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and curiosity
Li, Y., Huo, T., Zhuang, K., Li, S., Wang, X., Ren, Z., Liu, Q., & Qiu, J. (2019) · Neuroscience Letters · doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2019.134442 · Cited by 18
Sarasso, P., Francesetti, G., Roubal, J., Gecele, M., Ronga, I., Neppi-Mòdona, M., & Sacco, K. (2022) · Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · doi:10.3389/fnhum.2022.906188 · Cited by 21
3DLIM: Intelligent analysis of students’ learning interest by using multimodal fusion technology
Luo, Z., Zheng, C., Gong, J., Chen, S., Luo, Y., & Yi, Y. (2022) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-022-11485-8 · Cited by 18
“This conclusion has also been simultaneously confirmed by Hidi (2006) and Kang et al. (2009).”
Factors for optimizing intervention programs for cognition in older adults: the value of exergames
Perrot, A., & Maillot, P. (2023) · npj Aging · doi:10.1038/s41514-023-00103-7 · Cited by 19
Bluemke, M., Engel, L., Grüning, D. J., & Lechner, C. M. (2023) · Journal of Personality Assessment · doi:10.1080/00223891.2023.2199863 · Cited by 20
On the interplay of curiosity, confidence, and importance in knowing information
Spitzer, M., Janz, J., Nie, M., & Kiesel, A. (2023) · Psychological Research · doi:10.1007/s00426-023-01841-9 · Cited by 18
“The positive relationship between curiosity and the decision to reveal the answer was also indicated by a positive and significant correlation r = 0.44, p = 0.005, and was in line with Experiment 1 and the findings by Kang et al. (2009).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluential
Metadata
- Authors
- Kang, M. J., Hsu, M., Krajbich, I. M., Loewenstein, G., McClure, S. M., Wang, J. T.-Y., & Camerer, C. F.
- Affiliations
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
- Carnegie Mellon University (US)
- Stanford University (US)
- National Taiwan University (TW)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2009-08
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 963-973
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- OpenAlex
- W2104225738
- Cited by
- 882
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 74 · 2025: 96 · 2024: 79 · 2023: 80 · 2022: 74 · 2021: 70 · 2020: 114 · 2019: 76 · 2018: 52 · 2017: 35 · 2016: 34 · 2015: 29 · 2014: 18 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 14.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- CaltechAUTHORS (California Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychological and Educational Research Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
- Keywords
- curiosity, caudate nucleus, reward anticipation, trivia questions, memory enhancement, surprise, resource allocation, waiting time, token allocation
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Arousal, Attention, Brain, Caudate Nucleus, Exploratory Behavior, Female, Frontal Lobe, Globus Pallidus, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Motivation, Oxygen, Putamen, Reading, Mental Recall, Reward, Prefrontal Cortex, Parahippocampal Gyrus, Young Adult
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