title: Stimulus Novelty Energizes Actions in the Absence of Explicit Reward.
abstract: Novelty seeking has been tied to impulsive choice and biased value based choice. It has been postulated that novel stimuli should trigger more vigorous approach and exploration. However, it is unclear whether stimulus novelty can enhance simple motor actions in the absence of explicit reward, a necessary condition for energizing approach and exploration in an entirely unfamiliar situation. In this study human subjects were cued to omit or perform actions in form of button presses by novel or familiar images. We found that subjects' motor actions were faster when cued by a novel compared to a familiar image. This facilitation by novelty was strongest when the delay between cue and action was short, consistent with a link between novelty and impulsive choices. The facilitation of reaction times by novelty was correlated across subjects with trait novelty seeking as measured in the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. However, this li between high novelty-seeking and action facilitation was driven by trials with a long delay between cue and action. This prolonged time window of energization following novelty could hint at a mechanistic underpinning of enhanced vigour for approach and exploration frequently postulated for novelty seeking humans. In conclusion, we show that stimulus novelty enhances the speed of a cued motor action. We suggest this is likely to reflect an adaptation to changing environments but may also provide a source of maladaptive choice and impulsive behaviour.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom.|Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Koster
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Tricia X
authors.initials: TX
authors.lastname: Seow
authors.affiliation: Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Raymond J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Dolan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom.|Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research, D-39120, Magdeburg, Germany.|German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, D-39120, Magdeburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Emrah
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Düzel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003463:Cues; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D012201:Reward; D055815:Young Adult