in investigating response to novel or exciting stimuli. The fast dopamine release observed during childhood and adolescence is important in development, as curiosity and exploratory behavior are the largest facilitators of learning during early years. In addition, the sensation pleasure of "liking" can occur when opioids are released by nucleus accumbens. This helps someone evaluate the unfamiliar situation or environment and attach value to the novel object. These processes of both wanting and liking play a role in activating the reward system of the brain, and perhaps in the stimulation of curious or information-seeking tendencies as well. Caudate nucleus The caudate nucleus, is a region of the brain that is highly responsive to dopamine. The caudate nucleus is another component of the reward pathway. Research has suggested that the role of the caudate nucleus is to anticipate the possibility and reward of exploratory behavior and gathered information, thus contributing to factors of curiosity. Anterior cortices Regions of the anterior cortices correspond to both conflict and arousal and, as such, seem to reinforce certain exploratory models of curiosity. Cortisol Cortisol is a chemical known for its role in stress regulation. However, cortisol may also be associated with curious or exploratory behavior. Findings in recent studies suggesting the role of cortisol with curiosity support the idea of optimal arousal theory. It is suggested the release of a small amount cortisol causing stress encourages curious behavior, while too much stress can initiate a "back away" response. Attention Attention is important to the understanding of curiosity because it directly correlates with one's abilities to selectively focus and concentrate on particular stimuli in the surrounding environment. As there are limited cognitive and sensory resources to understand and evaluate various stimuli, attention allows the brain to better focus on what it perceives to be the most important or relevant of these stimuli. Individuals tend to focus their energies on stimuli that are particularly stimulating or engaging. Indicating that the more attention a stimulus garners, the more frequent one's energy and focus will be directed towards that stimulus. This idea suggests an individual will focus their attention on new or unfamiliar stimuli in an effort to better understand or make sense of the unknown over the more familiar or repetitive stimuli, creating the idea that curiosity demands attention. Striatum The striatum is a part of the brain which coordinates motivation with body movement. It would seem natural