Cognitive psychophysiological examination of interest using the probe stimulus method

在本研究中，我们假设兴趣是一种情感，研究了人们感到有趣的心理生理状态以及引起兴趣的相关因素。三个实验使用了三种类型的对象：电脑游戏、电影预告片和随机多边形。结果显示，当人们对某件事感兴趣时，大脑对与任务无关的信息（探针刺激）的电反应会减少，而新奇或复杂但可理解的物体被认为是最有趣的。

In this study, psychophysiological states in which people feel something is interesting and the factors related to the elicitation of interest are examined on the assumption that interest is an emotion. Three experiments were conducted using three types of objects: computer games, movie trailers, and random polygons. Results showed that brain electrical responses to task-irrelevant information (probe stimuli) were reduced when people felt interested in something and that novel or complex but understandable objects were rated to be most interesting.