A recent study shows curiosity is key to boosting memory and learning.

Researchers at the University of California (UC) Davis Center for Neuroscience published a new study about the effects of curiosity on memory in the October 2 edition of the journal, Neuron.

Dr. Matthias Gruber, a postdoctoral researcher at Davis Center, together with other scientists found out the first connection between curiosity, improved learning and memory with the help of 19 participants.

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Participants were asked a series of trivia questions while in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. They were asked to rate their curiosity about their answers to those questions.

Participants were then shown a picture of a neutral face after every question, and before the answer appeared 14 seconds later. Afterwards, they did a surprise recognition memory test for the presented faces, following a memory test of the trivia answers.

According to the research findings, people remembered more information about trivia when they were interested in the subject.

Moreover, when the participants' curiosity was piqued, they paid more attention to the unrelated photograph and became better at remembering information even about unrelated topics.

Dr. Gruber said "curiosity may set the brain in a condition that allows it to learn and retain any kind of information."

The findings potentially have far-reaching implications for the public because it reveal insights into how a form of intrinsic motivation-curiosity--affects memory. The data suggest ways to improve learning in the classroom and other settings, Dr. Gruber added.

Tagsboost memory, Curiosity killed the cat, memory booster, curiosity, learning