Curiosity is not a 'bad' defect in mice
When an unexpected event occurs, it is often necessary to act, even if one does not control all of the consequences.
According to scientists in the Laboratoire Neurosciences Paris-Seine (CNRS/UPMC/INSERM), mice will display their curiosity in a situation of uncertainty: they tend to explore their environment in order to comprehend it better.
As a step on from this, the scientists have demonstrated the crucial role of acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter) in modulating these behaviors.
Their findings may help us to clarify our understanding of certain psychiatric disorders. They were published on 18 January 2016 on the Nature Neuroscience website.
More information: Jérémie Naudé et al. Nicotinic receptors in the ventral tegmental area promote uncertainty-seeking, Nature Neuroscience (2016). DOI: 10.1038/nn.4223
