Curiosity satisfaction increases event-related potentials sensitive to reward

Successful learning depends on various factors such as depth of processing, motivation, or curiosity about information. A strong drive to learn something or the expectation of receiving a reward can be crucial to enhance learning. However, the influence of curiosity on the processing of new information and its similarity with reward processing is not well understood. This study examined whether states of curiosity influence specific event-related-potentials (ERPs) associated with reward processing and whether these ERPs are related with later memory benefits. In an initial screening phase, participants indicated their curiosity and confidence in prior knowledge about answers to various trivia questions. In a subsequent study phase, we targeted different time windows related to reward processing during the presentation of trivia answers containing the Reward-Positivity (RewP; 250 - 350 ms), the P3 (250 - 500 ms), and the Late-Positive-Potential (LPP; 600 - 1000 ms). In a following surprise memory test, we found that participants recalled more high- than low-curiosity answers. The RewP, P3 and LPP showed greater positive mean amplitudes for high compared to low curiosity, reflecting increased reward processing. In addition, we found that the RewP and the P3 showed more positive mean amplitudes for later recalled compared to later forgotten answers, but curiosity did not modulate this encoding-related results. These findings support the view that the satisfaction of curiosity resembles reward processing, indicated by event-related-potentials.