Curiosity and aging: can staying inquisitive help you age well?

In this Science Weekly episode, The Guardian explores whether curiosity helps us age well. It defines curiosity, outlining epistemic, perceptual and social forms, and explains how anticipation engages the brain's reward and memory circuits. The discussion highlights how curiosity changes with age, with older adults showing strong interest in specific questions and how trait curiosity relates to cognitive resilience. A trivia twist reveals New Zealand as the first country to grant women the vote, and the square-trunk trees of Anton Valley in Panama end the show. Experts Matthias Gruber and Mary Watley summarize practical ways to stay curious as we age.

Listeners will learn how curiosity can improve retention, while also recognizing potential downsides like misinformation when curiosity runs unchecked.

Introduction: curiosity and aging

The Guardian's Science Weekly episode centers on curiosity as a potential key to aging well. It begins with a broad definition of curiosity as an intrinsic desire to learn for its own sake, then narrows to specific forms used in research: epistemic curiosity, perceptual curiosity, and social curiosity. The hosts emphasize that curiosity fuels learning and memory, not merely entertainment, and set up the central question: can staying inquisitive help our brains stay sharp as we age?

"Curiosity is the engine for learning, an intrinsic motivation to gain new knowledge and understanding," - Matthias Gruber.

Types of curiosity: from trivia to daily life

The episode distinguishes several kinds of curiosity: epistemic curiosity for semantic knowledge, perceptual curiosity triggered by sensory input, and social curiosity about other people. It also covers morbid curiosity as a phenomenon, and explains the distinction between trait curiosity (a general tendency to be curious) and state curiosity (curiosity about a specific question or topic). This framework helps explain why some people pursue broad information while others dive deeply into particular interests.

As the researchers note, curiosity can be elicited in the lab using trivia questions, and these moments of anticipation yield measurable memory benefits. The discussion connects these laboratory findings to everyday learning and personal growth, framing curiosity as a central engine of lifelong learning.

"anticipation and the act of discovery itself is what's pleasurable," - Matthias Gruber.

Brain mechanisms: dopamine, memory, and learning

The episode explores the neural basis of curiosity, highlighting the dopaminergic (reward) circuits that light up when people anticipate a sought-after answer. The hippocampus, a key memory region, shows activity during curiosity that predicts later recall of the upcoming information. The combination of anticipation and discovery is presented as a powerful driver of memory encoding and retention, with curiosity spillover effects extending benefits to incidental information learned in curious moments.

The hosts explain that information needed for curiosity to pay off requires time to build, and that ready-made answers on phones or computers can shorten the curiosity window, sometimes diminishing the learning payoff.

"Curiosity needs a bit of time to build," - Matthias Gruber.

Aging, curiosity across the lifespan and cognitive reserve

Turning to aging, the episode reports research showing a decline in trait curiosity with age, but a surprising rise in state curiosity among older adults when confronted with specific questions. A middle-age dip around age 40 is discussed, with researchers suggesting life pressures and stress might dampen the openness to new information during that period. Yet, maintaining high trait curiosity appears linked to better cognitive outcomes and greater cognitive reserve, the brain's ability to cope with aging-related changes.

Mary Watley and colleagues argue that the old adage to act young—engaging with new activities, social interactions, and learning—may help preserve cognitive health. They caution that curiosity also carries risks, including increased vulnerability to scams and misinformation if not tempered by critical thinking.

"Having higher trait curiosity was associated with better cognitive reserve," - Mary Watley.

Practical takeaways: cultivating curiosity and guarding against risks

The episode closes with practical guidance: cultivate curiosity through diverse experiences, lifelong learning, and social engagement, while staying vigilant against simple answers, sensational headlines, and scams. The researchers suggest that curiosity, when channeled mindfully, supports memory, learning, and daily functioning as we age, even for those not naturally inclined toward curiosity.

In a lighthearted wrap-up, the hosts answer trivia questions: New Zealand was the first country to grant women the right to vote, and the scene-stealing Panama's Anton Valley hosts square-trunk trees as a curiosity-worthy finale. The message is clear: curiosity can be a protective factor for aging brains, provided we balance it with critical thinking and healthy habits.

Conclusion: takeaways for curious minds

The Guardian's Science Weekly episode reinforces that curiosity acts as a powerful learning engine, shaping how we remember, learn, and age. By understanding the different forms of curiosity and their neural underpinnings, listeners gain a framework for staying mentally engaged and socially connected across the lifespan, while being mindful of overreliance on easy answers and misinformation.