Novelty 'its own reward' for brain

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Duzel and his university colleague Nico Bunzeck designed a series of experiments to test the idea that the brain is attracted to new information.

The midbrain regulates motivation levels by releasing dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with the brain's pleasure centre.

"We have now shown that novelty activates this brain area," said Duzel. "We believe that experiencing novelty might, in itself, have an impact on our dopamine levels."

Oddball images

To look at the effects of novelty, tests were done on 14 healthy adults aged 20 to 36.

Participants watched photos of faces or outdoor scenes and were asked if they had seen the picture before.

Most images were repeated several times, but sometimes they included an oddball image that appeared only once.

Recall was higher when oddball images were included, and brain scans showed higher activity in the midbrain area that makes dopamine, the team reported in Thursday's issue of the journal Neuron.

Whether images were of angry faces or neutral faces made no difference, which suggests the brain is reacting to novelty itself, not emotional arousal.

The researchers said they hope the findings could help people with memory problems, but they don't know if results from healthy young adults would apply to patients.

"These findings indicate that midbrain regions preferentially respond to novelty and suggest that novelty can serve as its own reward," Brian Knutson and Jeffrey Cooper of the department of psychology at Stanford University wrote in a commentary accompanying the study.

"By beginning to trace links between novelty, reward, and memory, Bunzeck and Duzel have given us a good start toward understanding the motivation that drives explorers and scientists alike."

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