Enhanced novelty responding has been demonstrated as well in adolescent rodents relative to their more mature counterparts in a number of experimental paradigms (Adriani et al., 1998; Adriani & Laviola, 2000; Beluzzi et al., 2004; Caster et al., 2007; Collins & Izenwasser, 2004; Douglas et al., 2003; Philpot & Wecker, 2008; Spear & Brake, 1983; Stansfield & Kirstein, 2006, but also see Cao et al., 2007; Caster et al., 2005). Given that adolescence is a time of acquiring new skills for survival away from parents, enhanced novelty seeking may have been evolutionally conserved for its adaptive value during this developmental period, contributing to exploration of novel areas and providing the opportunity to find new sources of food, water, and mates (Spear, 2000).
