Where should I search next? Messages embedded in storybooks influence children's strategic exploration in Turkey and the United States.

Despite the vital role of curiosity-driven exploration in learning, our understanding of how to enhance children's curiosity remains limited. Here, we tested whether hearing a strategic curiosity story with curiosity-promoting themes (e.g., strategically approaching uncertainty, adapting flexibly to new information) versus a control story with traditional pedagogical themes (e.g., following rules, learning from others) would influence children's strategic exploration across two cultures. Three- to 6-year-olds from the United States (N = 138) and Turkey (N = 88) were randomly assigned to hear one of these stories over Zoom, before playing a game in which they searched for sea creatures across five fish tanks. All tanks had the same number of hiding spots but varied in the number of creatures they contained. Time was limited and children could not return to prior tanks, pushing them to allocate search effort strategically. Results indicated that across both countries, children in the strategic curiosity condition explored the virtual "aquarium" more broadly; they moved through tanks more rapidly than children in the control condition and were more likely to explore all five tanks before time ran out. Children in the strategic curiosity condition also showed relatively more strategic search, adapting their search based on the likelihood of finding creatures in each tank. While further research is needed to pinpoint which elements of our stories produced differences in search behavior and whether they did so by enhancing or inhibiting children's strategic exploration, storybooks appear to be a promising method for shaping children's exploration across multiple countries. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Evidence-based scientific thinking and decision-making in everyday life.

In today's knowledge economy, it is critical to make decisions based on high-quality evidence. Science-related decision-making is thought to rely on a complex interplay of reasoning skills, cognitive styles, attitudes, and motivations toward information. By investigating the relationship between individual differences and behaviors related to evidence-based decision-making, our aim was to better understand how adults engage with scientific information in everyday life. First, we used a data-driven exploratory approach to identify four latent factors in a large set of measures related to cognitive skills and epistemic attitudes. The resulting structure suggests that key factors include curiosity and positive attitudes toward science, prosociality, cognitive skills, and openmindedness to new information. Second, we investigated whether these factors predicted behavior in a naturalistic decision-making task. In the task, participants were introduced to a real science-related petition and were asked to read six online articles related to the petition, which varied in scientific quality, while deciding how to vote. We demonstrate that curiosity and positive science attitudes, cognitive flexibility, prosociality and emotional states, were related to engaging with information and discernment of evidence reliability. We further found that that social authority is a powerful cue for source credibility, even above the actual quality and relevance of the sources. Our results highlight that individual motivating factors toward information engagement, like curiosity, and social factors such as social authority are important drivers of how adults judge the credibility of everyday sources of scientific information.

Remote islands as natural laboratories: human-food association increases attraction to humans and novelty exploration in a seabird.

Increased attraction to humans and their objects often arises after repeated and positive human-wildlife encounters (e.g. food provided in tourist settings). The causes of this 'over-attraction', which may result from a learned association between humans and food, are still poorly studied in wild animals. Understanding the influence of humans on animals' responses is yet crucial to prevent negative effects (e.g. aggression). We presented three novel objects to two groups of free-ranging brown skuas (Catharacta antarctica ssp. lonnbergi) in the remote sub-Antarctic, where their habitats show no or minimal human disturbance. Skuas in one group (Verte) had previously participated in repeated food-rewarded behavioural and cognitive tasks with a human experimenter; skuas in the other group (Ratmanoff) had never done so. Objects consisted of (i) one natural-food-resembling object (plastic fish), (ii) one anthropogenic food object (real cake slice), and (iii) one anthropogenic non-food object (yellow glove). Verte group skuas approached the human experimenter and pecked significantly more and sooner at novel objects. Human-food association may have thus resulted in increased attraction to humans and novelty exploration in previously naive brown skuas, making this species a useful model for investigating the consequences of experience with humans on wildlife behaviour.

[Risk factors of suicide attempt in adults: childhood trauma, adult attachment, temperament, and character].

INTRODUCTION: Suicide is a severe public health problem. Impacts of childhood traumas, unsecure adult attachment styles and personality traits have been suggested as possible risk factors for suicide attempts. The aim of this cross-sectional, case-controlled study is to investigate the impact of childhood traumas, adult attachment styles and personality traits on suicide attempt. METHODS: The sample consisted of psychiatric patients who attempted suicide (n=101) on the one hand and those who did not attempt suicide (n=114) on the other. The questionnaires used were the Hungarian validated versions of Adult Attachment Scale (AAS), Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and a demographic questionnaire. RESULTS: Results indicated that Novelty Seeking (NS) temperament trait [EH=1.043; 95% C.I.=(0.950-1.145)] p=0.376; emotional abuse [EH=1.034; 95% C.I.=(0.966-1.107)] p=0.336; emotional neglect [EH=1.022; 95% C.I.=(0.936-1.116)] p=0.626; and sexual abuse [EH=1.047; 95% C.I.=(0.959-1.142)] p=0.305 were associated with nonsignificant increases in the odds of suicide attempts. Whereas secure attachment style [EH=0.908; 95% C.I.=(0.842-0.980)] p=0.013 appeared to be a significantly protective factor (c2(1)=6.515 p=0.011). Furthermore, when examining the connection between childhood traumas and adult attachment styles it was found that the anxious attachment style had a positive significant correlation with emotional abuse (rs(197)=0.293) p<0.001, avoidant attachment style with emotional neglect (rs(197)= 0.273) p<0.001. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that individuals with avoidant attachment style and childhood traumas are likely to present a higher suicide risk. However secure attachment style likely to present a lower risk for suicide.

Coopetition, exploration and exploitation capabilities, and growth performance in digital healthcare ventures.

Introduction: Studies focusing on coopetition and dynamic capabilities have expanded significantly over the past several decades. Coopetition strategy and dynamic capabilities are increasingly recognised as sources of sustained competitive advantage. The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the factors driving growth performance in digital healthcare ventures by examining the role of coopetition, exploration and exploitation capabilities, and environmental uncertainty. While numerous studies have examined the competitive advantage of coopetition, its specific contribution to the growth of ventures in the digital realm remains less explored. Clarifying the strategic role of coopetition in driving growth performance is critical for delineating the intricate relationship between coopetition and growth performance, particularly in the context of digital healthcare ventures. To fill in this research gap, this study uses coopetition theory and dynamic capabilities theory to look at how exploration and exploitation capabilities, as well as environmental uncertainty, affect the relationship between coopetition and growth performance in digital healthcare ventures. Methods: We collected a total of 338 questionnaires from Chinese digital healthcare ventures between March 2023 and August 2023. We conducted data analysis using SPSS 26.0 and its macro-program PROCESS. Results: Our results confirm that coopetition has a positive effect on growth performance in digital healthcare ventures. Furthermore, exploration and exploitation capabilities fully mediate the relationship between coopetition and growth performance. Moreover, environmental uncertainty significantly and distinctively moderates the impact of exploration and exploitation capabilities on growth performance. Discussion: This study contributes to the existing literature by providing deeper insight into the relationship between coopetition and growth performance in digital healthcare ventures. It also offers important practical implications for public health improvement and socio-economic development.

Toddlers strategically adapt their information search.

Adaptive information seeking is essential for humans to effectively navigate complex and dynamic environments. Here, we developed a gaze-contingent eye-tracking paradigm to examine the early emergence of adaptive information-seeking. Toddlers (N = 60, 18-36 months) and adults (N = 42) either learnt that an animal was equally likely to be found in any of four available locations, or that it was most likely to be found in one particular location. Afterwards, they were given control of a torchlight, which they could move with their eyes to explore the otherwise pitch-black task environment. Eye-movement data and Markov models show that, from 24 months of age, toddlers become more exploratory than adults, and start adapting their exploratory strategies to the information structure of the task. These results show that toddlers' search strategies are more sophisticated than previously thought, and identify the unique features that distinguish their information search from adults'.

A Curiosity Estimation in Storytelling with Picture Books for Children Using Wearable Sensors.

Storytelling is one of the most important learning activities for children since reading aloud from a picture book stimulates children's curiosity, emotional development, and imagination. For effective education, the procedures for storytelling activities need to be improved according to the children's level of curiosity. However, young children are not able to complete questionnaires, making it difficult to analyze their level of interest. This paper proposes a method to estimate children's curiosity in picture book reading activities at five levels by recognizing children's behavior using acceleration and angular velocity sensors placed on their heads. We investigated the relationship between children's behaviors and their levels of curiosity, listed all observed behaviors, and clarified the behavior for estimating curiosity. Furthermore, we conducted experiments using motion sensors to estimate these behaviors and confirmed that the accuracy of estimating curiosity from sensor data is approximately 72%.

Natural behavior in everyday settings.

Infant behaviors-walking, vocalizing, playing, interacting with others, and so on-offer an unparalleled window into learning and development. The study of infants requires strategic choices about what to observe, where, when, and how. We argue that loosening study constraints-by allowing infants and caregivers to do whatever they choose, wherever they choose, and with whatever materials they choose-promises to reveal a deep understanding of the everyday data on which learning builds. We show that observations of infants' natural behavior yield unique insights into the nature of visual exploration, object play, posture and locomotion, proximity to caregiver, and communication. Furthermore, we show that by situating the study of behavior in ecologically-valid settings, researchers can gain purchase on the contextual regularities that frame learning. We close by underscoring the value of studies at every point on the research continuum-from cleverly controlled lab-based tasks to fully natural observations in everyday environments. Acceleration in the science of behavior rests on leveraging expertise across disciplines, theoretical positions, and methodological approaches.

Investigating social communication in mice: A two-intruders test approach.

Understanding the complex dynamics of social communication behaviors, such as exploration, communication, courtship, mating, and aggression in animal models, is crucial to reveal key neural and hormonal mechanisms underlying these behaviors. The two-intruders test is designed to investigate residents' behavior toward both male and female intruders within the home cage of the test male. During this test imitating natural conditions, several aspects of social interaction were investigated: Exploration, courtship, mating, and aggressive behavior. As mating and aggression involve overlapping neural circuits, the behavioral setup testing both behaviors is best at reflecting their competitive nature. Our findings demonstrate that resident male mice exhibit strong preference to communicate with a female intruder, which correlates with baseline testosterone levels of test males. Relevant female preference in the two-intruders test was also found in BALB/c males. Behavioral breakdown revealed the anogenital sniffing as a key behavioral feature that discriminates resident male behavior toward intruders of different sex. Furthermore, resident male interaction with female intruder was accompanied by neuronal activation in the ventromedial hypothalamus. We demonstrate that odor recognition underlies preference toward females in male residents, as experimental anosmia reduced communication with a female intruder. We conclude the two-intruders test setup to be a useful tool to study the neurological basis of social communication in animal models, which provides detailed analysis of various aspects of the laboratory animals' social behavior in the most natural conditions.

The Effect of Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation and Exercise on Locomotor Activity, Exploratory Activity, and Anxiety-Like Behavior in Adult and Aged Rats.

Aging is an inevitable and complex biological process that is associated with a gradual decline in physiological functions and a higher disease susceptibility. Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly docosahexaenoic acid, play a crucial role in maintaining brain health and their deficiency is linked to age-related cognitive decline. Combining omega-3-rich diets with exercise may enhance cognitive function more effectively, as both share overlapping neurobiological and physiological effects. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of exercise and omega-3 fatty acid (FA) supplementation in two different doses (160 mg/kg and 320 mg/kg) on anxiety-like behavior and cognitive abilities in both adult and aged rats. Male Wistar rats (4-5- and 23-24-month-old) were randomly divided into seven groups: 3-week control supplemented with placebo without exercise, low-dose omega-3 FAs, high-dose omega-3 FAs, 7-week control supplemented with placebo without exercise, exercise-only, low-dose omega-3 FAs with exercise, and high-dose omega-3 FAs with exercise. The administered oil contained omega-3 FAs with DHA:EPA in a ratio of 1.5:1. Our results indicate that aging negatively impacts the locomotor and exploratory activity of rats. In adult rats, a low dose of omega-3 FAs reduces locomotor activity when combined with exercise while high dose of omega-3 FAs reduces anxiety-like behavior and improves recognition memory when combined with exercise. The combination of omega-3 FAs and exercise had varying impacts on behavior, suggesting a need for further research in this area to fully understand their therapeutic efficacy in the context of cognitive changes associated with aging.

An effective textured Novel Object Recognition Test (tNORT) for repeated measure of whisker sensitivity of rodents.

Rodents use their whisker system to discriminate surface texture. Whisker-based texture discrimination tasks are often used to investigate the mechanisms encoding tactile sensation. One such task is the textured Novel Object Recognition Test (tNORT). It takes advantage of a tendency of rodents to explore novel objects more than familiar ones and assesses the sensitivity of whiskers in discriminating different textures of objects. It requires little training of the animals and the equipment involved is a simple arena with typically two objects placed inside. The success of the test relies on rodents spending sufficient time exploring these objects. Animals may lose interests in such tasks when performed repetitively within a limited time frame. However, such repeated tests may be crucial when establishing a sensitivity threshold of the whisker system. Here we present an adapted rodent tNORT protocol designed to maintain sustained interest in the objects even with repeated testing. We constructed complex objects from three simple-shaped objects. Different textures were provided by sandpapers of varying grit sizes. To minimise olfactory clues, we used the sandy and the laminar side of the same sandpaper as the familiar and novel textures assigned at random. We subsequently conducted repeated tNORTs on eight rats in order to identify a critical threshold of the sandpaper grit size below which rats would be unable to discriminate the sandy from the laminar side. With an inter-test-interval of seven days and after five tNORTs, the protocol enabled us to successfully identify the threshold. We suggest that the proposed tNORT is a useful tool for investigating the sensitivity threshold of the whisker system of rodent, and for testing the effectiveness of an intervention by comparing sensitivity threshold pre- and post-intervention.

Neural Representations of Sensory Uncertainty and Confidence Are Associated with Perceptual Curiosity.

Humans are immensely curious and motivated to reduce uncertainty, but little is known about the neural mechanisms that generate curiosity. Curiosity is inversely associated with confidence, suggesting that it is triggered by states of low confidence (subjective uncertainty), but the neural mechanisms of this link, have been little investigated. Inspired by studies of sensory uncertainty, we hypothesized that visual areas provide multivariate representations of uncertainty, which are read out by higher-order structures to generate signals of confidence and, ultimately, curiosity. We scanned participants (17 female, 15 male) using fMRI while they performed a new task in which they rated their confidence in identifying distorted images of animals and objects and their curiosity to see the clear image. We measured the activity evoked by each image in the occipitotemporal cortex (OTC) and devised a new metric of "OTC Certainty" indicating the strength of evidence this activity conveys about the animal versus object categories. We show that, perceptual curiosity peaked at low confidence and OTC Certainty negatively correlated with curiosity, establishing a link between curiosity and a multivariate representation of sensory uncertainty. Moreover, univariate (average) activity in two frontal areas-vmPFC and ACC-correlated positively with confidence and negatively with curiosity, and the vmPFC mediated the relationship between OTC Certainty and curiosity. The results reveal novel mechanisms through which uncertainty about an event generates curiosity about that event.

Exploring the role of environmental enrichment and early life adversity on emotional development.

Early life adversity has been linked with a higher probability of developing behavioral impairments and environmental manipulation is a strategy that may reduce the negative effects of exposure to adversity in early life. Here, we focused on exploring the influence of environmental enrichment (EE) as a protective factor in the context of early life adversity. We hypothesized that 24 hours of maternal deprivation (MD), in the second week of life, could induce anxiety-like behavior alterations and that exposure to EE could induce resilience to these behaviors due to alterations in the serotonergic system. Male Wistar rats were exposed to MD, on postnatal days 11 and 13, and to EE, after weaning. In adulthood, we performed a series of behavioral tests for fear, anxiety, and locomotor activity. We also measured the levels of serotonin in the amygdala and dorsal raphe nucleus. Our results revealed that MD does not impact fear behavior or the levels of serotonin, while EE decreases locomotor activity in a novel environment and enhances exploration in the predator odor test. EE also decreases serotonin in the amygdala and increases its turnover rate levels. Our findings provide insights into the critical timeframe during which stress exposure impacts the development and confirm that exposure to EE has an independent and protective effect for anxiety-like behaviors later in life.

Cognitive asymmetry in rats in response to emergent vs. disappearing affordances.

This study examines the effects of novel environmental changes on the behavior of rats in an experimental chamber. We hypothesized that newly discovered opportunities, detected by the animal's cognitive system, would motivate greater investigation of environmental changes than comparable changes that prevent a given behavior. Three experiments differed in the emergence vs. elimination of affordances represented by open or closed tunnels. In Experiment 1, rats were habituated to a chamber with all four tunnels closed, and then two tunnels were opened. In Experiment 2, rats were habituated to a chamber where all four tunnels were open, and then two tunnels were closed. In Experiment 3, rats were habituated to a chamber with two open tunnels on one side, and two closed tunnels on the other. Then, the arrangement of open and closed tunnels was swapped. Results of the Exp. 1 show that the rats responded by spending more time near the newly opened tunnels and less time near the closed tunnels, the central zone, and the transporter. This suggests that rats are more motivated to investigate the environmental change combined with the emergent affordance (opening of the tunnels) than the environmental change alone. In Exp. 2, the rats responded by spending more time near the open tunnels and less time in the central zone. This suggests that the rats are more triggered by the available affordances (open tunnels) than by the environmental change (closed tunnels). Finally, in Exp. 3, the rats responded by spending more time near the newly opened tunnels and less near the central zone. However, they did not spend less time near the newly closed tunnels. These results suggest that rats process both the novelty itself and the emergence/disappearance of available affordances. The results are discussed regarding the cognitive asymmetry in the perception of emergent vs. disappearing affordances. It is proposed that the rat's cognitive system is specialized for detecting newly emergent environmental opportunities/affordances rather than novelty in general.

Slow-exploring captive red knots were quicker to find food in a social setting than fast explorers.

Individuals foraging in groups face increased competition but can benefit from social information on foraging opportunities that can ultimately increase survival. Personality traits can be associated with food-finding strategies, such as shyer individuals scrounging on the food discoveries of others. How personality and foraging strategy interact in a social foraging context with different group compositions received less attention. Here, we conducted experiments to investigate the relationship between exploratory personality, group size (1-4 birds) and foraging success (i.e. speed of finding a food patch) in wild-caught red knots. We found that faster explorers, when foraging alone, discover food patches quicker than slower explorers. In groups, however, slower-exploring birds became quicker at finding food than fast explorers. This shows that slower-exploring individuals benefit from group foraging. They seem to be more perceptive to social cues, and in contrast to faster explorers, they become quicker at finding food when they are in a group than when foraging alone. We discuss how individuals with different personalities and foraging strategies can coexist in a social foraging context with different costs and benefits associated with their strategies.

Circadian variations influence anxiety-related behaviour, olfaction, and hedonic response in male Sprague-Dawley rats.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the acknowledged impact of circadian rhythms on various aspects of life, behavioural tests with laboratory animals often overlook alignment with their natural activity patterns. This study aims to evaluate the influence of circadian variations on the results, validity, and reliability of different behavioural tests in rats. METHODS: Three behavioural tests, the Light-Dark Box Test (LDB), assessing anxiety-related behaviour and locomotor activity; the Buried Pellet Test (BPT), revealing olfactory abilities and motivation issues; and the Sucrose Preference Test (SPT), studying the anhedonic response, were employed to encompass multiple daytime-dependent behavioural aspects in male Sprague-Dawley rats. RESULTS: Our findings underscore distinct circadian effects on locomotor activity, exploratory behaviour, olfactory acuity, motivation, and hedonic response. Notably, anxious behaviour remained unaffected by daytime conditions. Furthermore, decreased data variance was found to be correlated with conducting behavioural tests during the subjects' active phase. DISCUSSION: This study demonstrates extensive circadian influences on nearly all parameters investigated, coupled with a significant reduction in data variability during the active phase. Emphasising the importance of aligning experimental timing with rats' natural activity patterns, our results suggest that conducting tests during the active phase of the animals not only refines test sensitivity , reduces stress, and provides more representative data, but also contributes to ethical animal research (3 R) and improves test relevance. This, in turn, enhances the reliability and validity of experimental outcomes in behavioural research and promotes animal welfare.

Family-based genome-wide association analysis of novelty seeking in a Korean schizophrenic population: A pilot study.

Schizophrenia (SPR) is the most devastating mental illness that causes severe deterioration in social and occupational functioning, but, the etiology remains unknown. The objective of this study is to explore the genetic underpinnings of novelty seeking behavior in schizophrenic family within the Korean population. By conducting a family-based genome-wide association study, we aim to identify potential genetic markers and variations associated with novelty seeking traits in the context of SPR. We have recruited 27 probands (with SPR) with their parents and siblings whenever possible. DNA was extracted from blood sampling of 58 individuals in 27 families and analyzed in an Illumina core exome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. A family-based association test (qFAM) was used to derive SNP association values across all chromosomes. Although none of the final 800,000 SNPs reached the genome-wide significant threshold of 8.45 × 10-7, the most significant 4 SNPs were within the 10-5 to 10-7. This study identifies genetic associations between novelty seeking behavior and SPR within families. RAPGEF5 emerges as a significant gene, along with other neuropsychiatric-related genes. Noteworthy genes like DRD4 and COMT did not show associations, possibly due to the focus on schizophrenic family. While shedding light on this complex relationship, larger studies are needed for robust conclusions and deeper mechanistic insights.

Humans flexibly use visual priors to optimize their haptic exploratory behavior.

Humans can use prior information to optimize their haptic exploratory behavior. Here, we investigated the usage of visual priors, which mechanisms enable their usage, and how the usage is affected by information quality. Participants explored different grating textures and discriminated their spatial frequency. Visual priors on texture orientation were given each trial, with qualities randomly varying from high to no informational value. Adjustments of initial exploratory movement direction orthogonal to the textures' orientation served as an indicator of prior usage. Participants indeed used visual priors; the more so the higher the priors' quality (Experiment 1). Higher task demands did not increase the direct usage of visual priors (Experiment 2), but possibly fostered the establishment of adjustment behavior. In Experiment 3, we decreased the proportion of high-quality priors presented during the session, hereby reducing the contingency between high-quality priors and haptic information. In consequence, even priors of high quality ceased to evoke movement adjustments. We conclude that the establishment of adjustment behavior results from a rather implicit contingency learning. Overall, it became evident that humans can autonomously learn to use rather abstract visual priors to optimize haptic exploration, with the learning process and direct usage substantially depending on the priors' quality.

Role of Metacognitive Confidence Judgments in Curiosity: Different Effects of Confidence on Curiosity Across Epistemic and Perceptual Domains.

Previous research suggests that curiosity is sometimes induced by novel information one has no relevant knowledge about, but it is sometimes induced by new information about something that one is familiar with and has prior knowledge about. However, the conditions under which novelty or familiarity triggers curiosity remain unclear. Using metacognitive confidence judgments as a proxy to quantify the amount of knowledge, this study evaluates the relationship between the amount of relevant knowledge and curiosity. We reviewed previous studies on the relationship between subjective curiosity and confidence and reanalyzed existing large-sample data. The findings indicate that the relationship between curiosity and confidence differs depending on the nature of the stimuli: epistemic versus perceptual. Regarding perceptual stimuli, curiosity is stronger when individuals have lower confidence levels. By contrast, for epistemic stimuli, curiosity is stronger when individuals have higher confidence levels. These results suggest that curiosity triggered by perceptual stimuli is based on perceived novelty, whereas that triggered by epistemic stimuli is based on familiarity with prior knowledge.

Exploration of new space elicits phosphorylation of GluA1(Ser831) and S6K and expression of Arc in the hippocampus in vivo as in long-term potentiation.

The brain responds to experience through modulation of synaptic transmission, that is synaptic plasticity. An increase in the strength of synaptic transmission is manifested as long-term potentiation (LTP), while a decrease in the strength of synaptic transmission is expressed as long-term depression (LTD). Most of the studies of synaptic plasticity have been carried out by induction via electrophysiological stimulation. It is largely unknown in which behavioural tasks such synaptic plasticity occurs. Moreover, some stimuli can induce both LTP and LTD, thus making it difficult to separately study the different forms of synaptic plasticity. Two studies have shown that an aversive memory task - inhibitory avoidance learning and contextual fear conditioning - physiologically and selectively induce LTP and an LTP-like molecular change, respectively, in the hippocampus in vivo. Here, we show that a non-aversive behavioural task - exploration of new space - physiologically and selectively elicits a biochemical change in the hippocampus that is a hallmark of LTP. Specifically, we found that exploration of new space induces an increase in the phosphorylation of GluA1(Ser831), without affecting the phosphorylation of GluA1(Ser845), which are biomarkers of early-LTP and not NMDAR-mediated LTD. We also show that exploration of new space engenders the phosphorylation of the translational regulator S6K and the expression of Arc, which are features of electrophysiologically-induced late-LTP in the hippocampus. Therefore, our results show that exploration of new space is a novel non-aversive behavioural paradigm that elicits molecular changes in vivo that are analogous to those occurring during early- and late-LTP, but not during NMDAR-mediated LTD.