Novelty
A recent article in the journal Neuron provides some insight into what goes on in our brains when we encounter new things. The study it reports looked at what goes on in the brain when we encounter new things. It’s true, for example, that when given a choice, people often choose something new over something they already know about. This kind of behavior seems to be mediated by neural pathways in the frontal lobes and in a deeper part of the brain called the ventral striatum. The study showed that when people made choices based on their preference for novelty, the ventral striatum showed greater activity.
What does this have to do with brain fitness? I’m interested in the study for a couple of reasons:
- First, novelty-seeking or ‘exploratory behavior’ decreases as we get older. This might even be the basis for the old saying “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” We know it isn’t that you can’t teach older people new things, but it may be true that older people aren’t as interested in new things.
- Second, the brain chemical dopamine is important in this neural circuit, and we know that the circuits in the brain using this chemical are less active in older people.
- Third, much of the research on improving mental abilities in older people has focused on learning new things as a key characteristic of the kind of activities that improve cognitive abilities.
- Putting these all together, it may be that choosing new things may stimulate dopaminergic activity in the ventral striatum. It is speculation, but maybe choosing novelty improves the activity of this area and the other areas linked to it. Choosing novelty may improve brain fitness.
The bottom line: This study helps us understand what goes on in the brain when we make choices based on how new something is. Its findings suggest a possible way that newness or novelty can improve brain fitness.
Reference: Wittmann BC, Daw ND, Seymour B, Dolan RJ. Striatal activity underlies novelty-based choice in humans. Neuron, 58, 967-983 (June 26th, 2008).
