Intrinsic functional connections determine how curiosity and prediction errors enhance memory

Individuals differ in the way they seek information, acquire knowledge, and form memories. Neural fingerprints of intrinsic functional connectivity distinguish between individuals and predict inter-individual differences in task performance. Both curiosity - the desire to acquire new information - and information prediction errors (IPEs) - the mismatch between information and previous expectations - enhance memory but differ considerably between individuals. The present study assessed whether inter-individual differences in functional connectivity measured using resting-state fMRI determine the extent to which individuals benefit from memory-enhancing effects of curiosity and IPEs. We found a double dissociation between individual differences in mesolimbic functional connectivity, which accounted for curiosity-driven but not IPE-related memory enhancements, and individual differences in cingulo-hippocampal functional connectivity, which predicted IPE-driven but not curiosity-related memory enhancements. These novel findings on how inter-individual differences in dissociable intrinsic functional networks determine memory enhancements stress the need to account for these differences in theoretical frameworks of curiosity and memory. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.