Learning makes your brain happy

Ed Yong at Not Rocket Science writes about a research paper showing a link between learning and thirst in rhesus monkeys. In

Why information is its own reward - same neurons signal thirst for water, knowledge:

he writes:

To me, and I suspect many readers, the quest for information can be an intensely rewarding experience. Discovering a previously elusive fact or soaking up a finely crafted argument can be as pleasurable as eating a fine meal when hungry or dousing a thirst with drink. This isn't just a fanciful analogy - a new study suggests that the same neurons that process the primitive physical rewards of food and water also signal the more abstract mental rewards of information.

As commenter oscarzoalaster puts it:

So there is actual objective evidence that curiosity can be as important a desire as food and water! I feel more normal now!!! Thank you!

If only teaching were so easy.


via Learning makes your brain happy - Boing Boing