Motivation and emotion/Book/2025/Neuroscience of interest

Apollo 11 launch Human beings landed on the Moon in 1969- a historical event that had been done with huge technological, financial and safety challenges. The Apollo programs necessitated a new level of engineering and risk-taking as well as sustained united effort, yet the motivation to explore persisted across scientists, astronauts, and the general public. See Figure 1. What caused this insatiability, and why humans made a decision to commit to such an extraordinary goal?

How is it that some subjects, some tasks, and some experiences are just captivating, and some just boring? The solution does not depend just on psychology but as well complex valuation and attention networks of the brain. Interest is a unique affective-motivational state that channels cognitive resources to information-rich stimulations, and emphasises on learning, memories and explorations. In contrast to curiosity, which can be a temporary experience arousing to uncertainty, interest entails a prolonged neural architecture by assessing relevance and making a subjective value and preserving goal directed concentration.

Brain circuitry reveals mechanisms through which temporary interest becomes an enduring engagement as found by neuroscientific studies. Ventral striatum-ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra (SN) dopaminergic pathways mediate encoding of salience of new or informative cues expressing exploratory behaviour. The hippocampus assists in the formation and integration of the memory as well as the existing information, whereas the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), determines the personal value and importance of information. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) have control over cognitive control to allow long term focused attention and effort. Collectively these circuits influence the experiences that we seek to have and hold onto.

Key concepts

• Neurological underpinnings of interest behaviourː dopamine, hippocampus, vmPFC, ACC, and dmPFC work together to convert interest into engagement.
• Effect on learning - motivation: learning and motivation can be affected by knowing about these circuits and this text propositions the design of educational approaches, work engagement and clinical applications.
• Lifespan - applied significance: interest does not remain fixed but will vary with development and may be manipulated to enhance intrinsic motivation, goal directed behavior, adaptive exploration, investigated via neurological functions - motivational theory.

Interest is a dynamic, content-specific motivational state that both responds to and shapes attention, learning and long-term engagement. It arises from interactions between situational triggers- novelty, uncertainty, surprise, person-level predispositions- prior knowledge, values, identity, and neural systems which evaluate information-value and allocate cognitive control.

Psychological distinctions

Situational interest is a temporary, stimulus-constrained reaction: novelty, conflict, or perceptual salience draw attention - affect, and provoke immediate awareness which generally goes when the antecedent condition (situation) is removed (triggered situational interest). A more consistent tendency to re-involve a specific field is individual interest; it relies upon the knowledge gained, positive affective relations, and value sufficiently aligned with identity. The evolutionary trajectory between the two forms is usually summed up in the Four-Phase Model: triggered situational - maintained situational - emerging individual -  well-developed individual interest. The empirical evidence demonstrates that situational interests usually precede and support the development of individual interests; however, the maintenance of stable interests also requires fixed chances of competency, significant practice and self-relevance.

Theories linking interest, motivation and emotion

According to self-determination theory (SDT), interest is closely connected with intrinsic motivation: once the fundamental needs of autonomy, competence and relatedness are met, individuals tend to be interested and more willing to perform intrinsically-valued learning tasks (Deci and Ryan, 2000). SDT accounts for the role of the framing of a task and perceived choice mediating the transformation of a situational trigger to sustained interest. While expectancy-value models (e.g., Eccles & Wigfield tradition) are utilised supplementary, fixating upon perceived value (importance, utility, and cost) and anticipation of achievement as determinants of whether curiosity or situational interest evolves into persistence. Interest thus acts within wider motivational architectures that consider the benefits against the effort - the opportunity cost. In conjunction, immediate affective mechanics of interest - situational interest are mostly explained via information-gap models and appraisal models. According to Loewenstein, information-gap framework, the awareness of one particular gap between actual and desired knowledge evokes an aversive- wanting state that initiates information seeking; the level and valence of the wanting is then controlled through further appraisal procedures. Employing recent integrative models like the PACE model (Prediction-Appraisal-Curiosity-Exploration) relate the prediction errors and appraisal processes with the benefits of curiosity-based exploration and memory. These descriptions combined have a connection between cognitive appraisal, affective experience and behavioural seeking.

Table 1. Interest within cognitive-neural architectures

Neural substrates of interest interact between various memory circuits, neuromodulatory signals, and prefrontal control networks. Such networks run across multiple timescales, from milliseconds for originating attentional capture - to days to consolidate, facilitating both the exploration through intrigue and the time-intensive period to sustain that interest as one individual. A combination of empirical studies and computational paradigms can enable us to map these neural networks to formal mechanisms of interest.

VTA is central when encoding salience - reward prediction errors (RPEs), elucidating discrepancies among perceived and received outcomes. These kinds of RPE signals activate exploratory behaviour and help in learning (Schultz, 2007). Phasic dopaminergic release of the VTA can promote hippocampal plasticity by signalling both primary reward and informational value, and this facilitates the formation of memory of events which attract attention or curiosity (Gruber and Ranganath, 2019).The ventral striatum however, follows the appetitive and informational amount of reward, which encourages people to pursue new or informative stimuli (Knutson et al., 2001). The sensitivity of this area to unforeseen results strengthens the interactions with stimuli, which can be subsequently applied when the individual is interested in the subject.

Hippocampus helps to combine the new data with the old one and create episodic memories that might be used to influence future behaviour. The dopaminergic stimulation of the hippocampal long-term potentiation boosts high-value or surprising information during the curious moment and consolidates the information using preferential information (Gruber and Ranganath, 2019). This can be considered computationally an adaptive gating mechanism: the system is a selective store of events that would maximise expected future utility.

vmPFC codes the subjective value and incorporates the individual relevance in the process of decision-making, which facilitates the motivation to continuously interact (Bartra et al., 2013). While, ACC evaluates the utility of cognitive effort and cost of investing effort in information-rich activities to make decisions on whether a stimulus or a task should be worked on (Shenhav et al., 2013). This cost-benefit calculation is important to ascertain which situational interests turn into long-term individual interests. While the dlPFC is thought to be involved in cognitive regulation and goal-related behaviour, as well as, in maintaining rules, strategies and working memory that are needed to sustain attention to engaging or informative stimuli (Miller & Cohen, 2001).

Dopaminergic neurons communicate reward and informational worth, which will open the plasticity of hippocampal to establish memory of stimuli that attract curiosity (Schultz, 2007). Immediate salience signalling is supported through phasic dopamine, and general motivational state and opportunity costs is regulated through tonic dopamine. Whilst, locus coeruleus-noradrenaline axis regulates arousal, attention precision in uncertainty, whether new or surprising stimuli elicit an exploratory response (Aston-Jones and Cohen, 2005). The phasic bursts engage exploitative behaviour that is focused - tonic activity skews exploration of other alternatives. Finally, the cholinergic signals do regulate the changes in attention to improve encoding of new or task-relevant stimuli, so that in learning, bottom-up sensory signals become more salient (Sarter et al., 2005). Acetylcholine acts in a synergistic relationship with dopaminergic signals in order to give maximum benefit to learning by surprising or high-valued occurrences.

Computational frameworks can be used to explain interest-related behavior in terms of formalizing neural signals: Reward Prediction Error (RPE) measure the discrepancy between anticipated and actually realized results and reinforcement learning is directed by them. Empirical evidence indicates that VTA and ventral striatum activity is associated with RPEs in activities where curiosity is utilized, and that phasic dopaminergic activation is associated with attention and formation of memories (Schultz, 2007; Knutson et al., 2001). Expected Value of Control (EVC) ACC activity can be modeled as the calculation of expected value of control by combining the benefits and the cost of effort that are predicted. The EVC model forecasts the stimuli that are able to be given a long-term cognitive resources, and this is the reason why not all the new or unforeseen events become a permanent interest (Shenhav et al., 2013). Which is why Interest - Intrinsic Motivation are often modeled with intrinsically based reward to information gain, implemented via reinforcement-learning models (Oudeyer and Kaplan, 2007; Schmidhuber, 1991). Fundamentally, hippocampal and prefrontal cues are biological incorporations of such computational goals, whilst dopaminergic - cholinergic neuromodulation guards what gets encoded - reinforced.

Interest neurology is as well influenced by an interplay of the environment (novelty), thinking (relevance), and emotional regulation.

Novelty remains the most consistent predictor of interest, as unfamiliar stimuli are inherently attention-captivating and allow exploration. Nevertheless, the evidence indicates that novelty in itself is not a sure guarantee of interest. Rather, the correlation between novelty - involvement is an inverted-U-shaped relationship, with midranges of uncertainty being most favourable to curiosity. An example is Linnert and Westermann (2020), who assessed varying levels of uncertainty of the subjects about uncharted content. They found that the interest of curiosity was weakest when the levels of unpredictability were medium. On the other hand, too predictable and too complicated tasks increased the uncertainty of the subject. This is actually known as the goldilocks effect, where the interest is at its highest in cases when the novelty is neither uninteresting nor cognitively overstimulating.

It has also been explained through neuroscientific studies on the influence of novelty on learning systems. Knutson et al. (2001) applied functional MRI, which proved that the hippocampus and VTA, which are located in the middle of memory formation and reward anticipation, were activated by exposure of novel stimuli. Their results imply that novelty is not only attentive but can also lead to encoding and motivation as it is associated with learning and dopaminergic reward systems. Simultaneously, novelty is counterproductive. Evidence identified by  Gruber and Ranganath (2019) elucidated similarly that overtly trivial or overwhelming novelty impairs engagement. Although rare or conspicuous information could temporarily draw attention, it can either deplete cognitive resources or not mesh with previous knowledge and, therefore, it cannot be of interest in the long term. A combination of these studies proves that novelty is needed to generate interest, but it is not enough to maintain it unless the right amounts of uncertainty and relevance are present.

Although novelty is what draws the first attention, relevance is the one that can make the difference between interest and lack of interest. Studies have always demonstrated that information that is associated with the goals, identity, or prior knowledge of an individual is better appreciated, recalled and acted upon. Bartra, McGuire, and Kable (2013) performed a meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies of subjective value. They discovered simultaneous results that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) gives more value to information that is personally relevant thus affecting motivation and decision-making. Differently put, the brain lays more emphasis on stimuli that matter to the individual hence boosting interest. The interest is also stabilized by prior knowledge which offers a cognitive scaffold to the new learning. When students are able to contextualize new information and apply it to the knowledge framework they already possess, they have a higher likelihood of maintaining focus and are more apt to be more engaged. In contrast to no entry, in one such study of conceptual learning, subjects with more established knowledge base were identified to process new information more easily and remember it longer,: the material seemed familiar and expandable, which implies that interest is intensified. The concept of framing is also very important in the personal meaning of content. Instructional research has shown that when abstract content is taught by emphasizing its real world uses, it makes it more persistent and interesting. As an example, learners are more motivated when the scientific concepts are associated with health or environment decision-making than when these concepts are introduced by purely theoretical concepts. This highlights the fact that information does not have relevance but can be built through framing.

Emotions do not only add to the experience of interest, but also control the intensity and direction of interest. In specific, arousal defines whether interest positively or negatively converts into exploration or avoidance.

Aston-Jones and Cohen (2005) investigated the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system as an adaptive decision-making system. In a study, they discovered that a moderate tonic activity in this system facilitated exploration and long-term attention, but extreme arousal (like the one generated during stress) redirected behaviour to avoidance and disengagement. This implies that the arousal is required to jumpstart interest but the over stimulation can weaken it.

The intensity of interest can also be given through the objective measures of interest that are provided by physiological studies. A review of the literature on engagement and curiosity by Sarter, Gehring, and Kozak (2005) indicated that engagement and curiosity may be measured as pupil dilation, heart rate variations, and other autonomic indicators which are reliable. These types of indicators provide a view of the moment to moment control of interest and may disclose subtle changes that are perhaps not captured by self-report. See figure 2.

The ideal arousal, as a consequence, is a balance point: it is motivating and encourages encoding but does not turn to stress or exhaustion. When learners enjoy this balance, they have more chances of maintaining curiosity, and work hard on exploration.

Interest is not fixed, rather it dynamically changes throughout the lifespan; caused by developmental, neurological, and environmental factors. It is considerably expressed differently, with varying underlying mechanisms, and motivational foundation, in childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. A lifespan view of interest is a combination of evidence disclosing how curiosity, engagement and motivation can be adjusted to developmental needs.

Neurobiological systems involving the association of reward, novelty, and memory are critical in the creation of interest during childhood and adolescence. One key loop is the VTA loop that combines memory encoding and dopaminergic reward. The fMRI studies by Gruber and Ranganath (2019) were carried out among adolescents and young adults, whereby the participants were provided with the trivia questions aimed at evoking different degrees of curiosity. They discovered that an increase in curiosity led to the engagement of the hippocampal- VTA loop, which increased the later recall of information processed at high levels of curiosity. This is in line with theoretical models suggesting engagement (curiosity-driven) must be intrinsically linked with memory consolidation enabling exploration behavior to be converted into learning.

Adolescents contrarily are more reward sensitive, which enhances the interest of novelty: Knutson et al. (2001) reported higher ventrally striatal activation to novel reward stimuli in adolescents, which fits the developmental pattern of limbic reward systems developing before prefrontal control employing dual-systems models. The study of neurobiological tendencies in education shows that they can be utilized by means of specific intervention. Stoa and Chu (2023) held a randomized trial in middle-school classrooms, with students being exposed to science programs framed with applications of curiosity, in the real world. Intervention group students demonstrated a great deal of sustained engagement and motivation throughout the semester than controls.

During adulthood, the neurobiological changes and developmental priorities are manifested by the fact that interest is more goal oriented, selective as well as emotional. New interest due to novelty, but not necessarily due to relevance, are influenced by the age-related decrease in the availability of dopamine. Aston-Jones and Cohen (2005) explained the effects of dopaminergic system reductions in the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) system, which made them less responsive to new stimuli, and the motivational focus shifted to less general exploration and more directed interaction. This theoretical explanation explains the reason as to why adults might seek fewer new experiences but high-interest in areas that are personally meaningful. Emotion regulation is also a factor: Sarter et al. (2005) found that older adults maintain moderate arousal and focus on positive affect, and are interested in personally important areas despite the reduction in curiosity fuelled by novelty. The combination of these results indicates the maintenance of adaptive engagement in aging by cognitive, affective, and neurobiological processes.

Understanding how and why interest works is relevant in various significant ways that cut across the fields of education and workplace participation and therapeutic practice.

Curiosity-based teaching is one of the approaches that can greatly improve the learning process in a learning environment. As an illustration, encoding and retention has been found to be enhanced by arousal of curiosity before crucial teaching (Meliss, 2020). These strategies are also supported by scaffold, through which new content is related to prior knowledge and personal significance of learners, thus maintaining interest, and enhancing in-depth learning (see Figure 3). Lastly, moderate uncertainty, neither too much, too little, is important as it fosters exploration and curiosity, as the learners will be involved in the process.

In the workplace, job satisfaction should be maintained through the development of intrinsic, and not extrinsic motivation. Autonomy, competence and relatedness support foster intrinsic motivation in the employees in their work enabling them to increase engagement and persistence. In comparison, overdependence on extrinsic rewards may destroy intrinsic interest and decrease long-term motivation. Giving a chance to master skills and meaningful involvement also enhance commitment and facilitate interest-driven performance.

Interest is also of great importance in therapeutic environments. In the case of people with anxiety or depression, the strategy of reframing uncertainty as an opportunity, not as a threat, will decrease avoidance behaviors and encourage higher engagement. Interventions in aging populations that emphasize the meaningfulness and personal relevance of learning help not only to continue the interest and engagement based on relevance but also provide lifelong learning and psychological well-being.

Interest is an affect-motivational state, which occurs as the result of the interaction of the cognitive, emotional, and environmental factors. It is supported neurobiologically by dopaminergic pathways that have their origin in the VTA and substantia nigra (SN), project to the ventral striatum, and indicate the reward value of information. At the same time, hippocampal-prefrontal networks unite these signals with recollection and previous information, allowing curiosity to change into a prolonged focus, education, and investigation (Gruber and Ranganath, 2019; Knutson et al., 2001).

The strength and sustainability of interest are controlled by novelty, uncertainty, personal relevance, and emotional regulation. Moderate novelty and uncertainty lead to engagement stimulations, and relevance and meaningful framing anchor attention and motivation in the long term. Emotional and physiological regulation helps the arousal be kept within an optimum level to help exploration and retention.

It has great practical implications in the understanding of these mechanisms. In teaching, engagement and memory can be facilitated through balancing learning with curiosity, personal objectives, and a challenge that is manageable. In the workplace, tasks that are designed to create a balance between autonomy, skill growth and intrinsic reward create personal motivation. Reframing uncertainty and encouraging individually significant behaviours can reduce avoidance behaviours in anxiety and depression in clinical settings.

With neuroscience in tandem, combined with organisational design - therapy, it can be curated towards a curriculum that scaffolds interest and bolsters learning with personal ambitions. Interest is not merely a transient emotional state but a whole system of motivation which can be systemically reinforced - grown throughout the lifespan.

• Brain circuits and emotion (Book chapter, 2019)
• Dopamine and motivation (Book chapter, 2014)
• Reward system, motivation, and emotion (Book chapter, 2022)

• Emotions: limbic system (Youtube)
• The Neuroscience of Curiosity (Youtube)