A new study shows that people acquire better learning and memory skills when they are genuinely interested.

Researchers involved in the study were asked to measure and rate how the participants' curiosity peaked or subsided right before answering a simple trivia question, and were placed through an MRI machine to evaluate their brain activity.

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During the experiment, participants were presented with an image of a person's face associated with a trivia question, and were asked to focus on the person's face upon deciding on an answer that was to be revealed later.

After the MRI process, participants were asked to answer a pop quiz regarding those trivia questions so that researchers can further learn how they remember information.

According to the study's lead author, Matthias Gruber of the University of California, their findings demonstrate and reveal new insights on how curiosity or any form of intrinsic motivation can deeply affect memory. He said the findings will be pivotal in coming up with new methods of teaching and learning, especially in educational systems.

Researchers noted that the participants were able to remember the specific answers to the questions presented to them easily by associating those faces with the answers. 

They noted that when curiosity increases, it helps the brain's hippocampus focus more, which in turn makes for a sharper memory. 

Gruber added that inherent or intrinsic motivation works up the same region of the brain where extrinsic motivation is also fueled. This study proves that peoples' curiousity or interest in something makes it easier for them to learn that thing, more than when learning feels like a job.

On an important note, Fiona Kumfor from the Neuroscience Research Australia points out that this study reveals that curiosity is closely similar to emotion, which also heightens and influences memory regarding extrinsic or incidental information. 

This study is published in the journal, Neuron.

Tagsbrain learning capacity, curiosity, brain activity