The neurobiology of novelty seeking and uncertainty reduction

Animals and artificial agents are motivated to seek reward. Also many animals display intrinsic motivation to explore, even when their curiosity does not result in immediate or future rewards. For example, humans and monkeys explore novel objects regardless of their task relevance, and often they are motivated to resolve their uncertainty about future rewards, even in situations in which this information cannot be used for the task at hand. I will discuss the biological mechanisms of these intrinsic non-instrumental motivational drives and outline the circuit mechanisms through which curiosity can impact value-based economic decision making in primates and humans.