Andy’s Quick Hits (1): New Brain Network Discovered for Curiosity

I was, erm, curious, to read that a newly discovered network for curiosity and novelty seeking has been discovered.

This is interesting for numerous reasons:

• Curiosity is considered an essential survival trait
• Many business are promoting curiosity and novelty seeking in combination with “agile thinking”

These researchers found three “exploration” patterns (which have previously been considered part of the same mechanism):

1. Curiosity and novelty seeking (just curious, that’s it)
2. Hunger (searching for food)
3. Hunting (combined with aggression)

Interesting was also that curiosity, as a separate brain circuit, seems to be strongly linked to an obscure brain region which has barely been researched: the Zona Incerta.

This suggest that curiosity and novelty seeking is

1. Natural
2. Controlled by a specific network
3. Will be different in different people.

We at leading brains have always considered curiosity a primal trait that is naturally different in different people. This supports this, albeit with a new previously unknown network.

If you’re reading this, you likely have an active Zone Incerta circuit — welcome to the club!