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Prior knowledge modulates curiosity-driven learning: An ERP analysis

Poster Session B - Sunday, March 8, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Axel Mecklinger¹ (), Julia Meßmer¹, Tim Rüterbories¹, Regine Bader¹; ¹Saarland University

An extensive body of research has demonstrated that curiosity drives hippocampus-based learning and that information we are curious about is perceived as reward. However, it is still not well understood whether curiosity is also beneficial for learning when a learner’s prior knowledge supports learning and learning is less reliant on the hippocampus. Here we use event-related potentials (ERPs) to unravel the mechanisms underlying curiosity-driven learning. We presented words pairs in semantically congruent contexts in which learning is less reliant on the hippocampus or in neutral contexts in which memory formation more strongly depends on the hippocampus. Behaviorally, we found enhanced cued recall performance for word pairs that elicited high curiosity as well as high satisfaction of curiosity and for word pairs being learnt in congruent contexts. Moreover, the influence of satisfaction of curiosity on recall performance was stronger in congruent contexts. The ERP analysis revealed a reward positivity in the neutral condition that was larger for subsequently remembered than forgotten word pairs, especially when participants were highly curious. For congruent contexts, successful memory encoding is characterized by memory-related variations of the N400 whereby the direction of this effect is modulated by the learner’s satisfaction. Our results support the view that two different mechanisms underly curiosity-driven memory formation: Curiosity-driven learning without support by prior knowledge is associated with reward signals. Whereas satisfaction of curiosity and semantic integration processes are important catalysts for learning when learning is driven by prior knowledge and less dependent on the hippocampus.

Topic Area: LONG-TERM MEMORY: Episodic