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Scientists Discover "Adventure Center" in Brain
Would you rather ride an older roller coaster or a brand-new one? This question seems like a no-brainer--but a study at University College London shows that the brain actually has an "adventure center" that nudges a person to choose the new coaster.
Scientists pinpointed this spot with a machine that measures blood flow in the brain. More blood flows to highly active spots, causing them to light up on the scanner's screen. By scanning people's brains as they made choices in a laboratory test, researchers found a part called the ventral striatum really glowed when volunteers chose images new to them. The new choices unleashed a flood of "feel-good" chemicals in the brain.
The scientists noted that choosing adventure appears to be an ancient ability. The ventral striatum is in a "primitive" area of the brain that is similar to areas found in other animals' brains. A sense of adventure, they say, may help an animal survive--for example, if new choices provide it with a new source of food.
But there may be a downside to a sense of adventure. It may cause some people to choose dangerous activities and may even play a role in drug addiction. At the very least, it may explain why people buy products advertised as new and different--a case of falling for the "ad" in "adventure."
I'm Adelbert and that's what happened in Science this week!
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