the neuroscience of childlike wonder (and how to find it again)

the distinct neurobiological state of wonder, awe, and presence

A little while ago, I wrote and shared an article called why time felt slower when we were kids (and how to get it back). It resonated so deeply with so many people, and that made my heart feel very full.

Since writing it, I’ve found myself thinking about something related, but slightly different. A phenomenon that isn’t just about memory or the passage of time, but about a specific texture of consciousness itself - childlike wonder.

That bright, expansive sense that the world was vivid, surprising, almost electric in its vastness. Something that seems to dim with age, soften under the weight of routine, and get buried beneath the predictability of everyday life.

We tend to think that childlike wonder fades simply because we grow older. That it’s a natural casualty of time, responsibility, and experience. And in some ways, that’s true. But it’s not because wonder itself becomes impossible for us.

Childlike wonder (as nostalgic as it may feel) is not a memory. It’s a distinct neurobiological state. And when we understand what’s happening in the brain during those wide-eyed, heart-open moments, we can begin to create the conditions for it to arise again.

Yes, we aren’t kids anymore. And yes, the world has changed. But the core of who we are - the way our brains light up in the presence of beauty, mystery, and awe - that hasn’t gone anywhere.

(This article was also inspired by Awe, written by Dacher Keltner, which explores the science of awe and ways to cultivate it in everyday living.)

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The Neuroscience of Wonder

Wonder is a very specific orchestration of neural events. It begins with attentional capture, when our sensory systems rapidly focus on something new, surprising, or beautiful.

In these moments, the brain’s ventral tegmental area floods the system with dopamine; not merely to reward us, but to signal - this matters! stay with it.

At the same time, the amygdala (the brain’s emotional amplifier) becomes more active, heightening the sensory vividness of the experience. Colors seem richer. Sounds sharpen. The world feels briefly hyperreal.

The hippocampus (our memory’s architect) begins stitching the moment into long-term storage, preserving the tiny sensory details that make it unforgettable.

And most importantly, the prefrontal cortex, usually busy predicting, planning, and critiquing, eases its grip. This softening, a phenomenon known as transient hypofrontality, is what allows us to step out of the narrator’s seat and into direct experience. It’s the same shift that occurs during deep meditation, creative flow, and profound awe.

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Why Wonder Diminishes With Age

As we age, the brain becomes a master of prediction. Familiarity is, after all, efficient. It allows us to move through the world without constant recalibration. But efficiency comes at a cost - it dulls perception.

Neural pathways strengthen with repetition, creating what neuroscientists call schema - mental frameworks that allow us to recognize patterns quickly. When experiences match our existing schemas, the brain conserves energy by paying less attention. Novelty fades. Sensory richness collapses into abstraction.

The result? The world shrinks. Not in size, but in depth.

This is why childhood seems expansive - because every experience was neurologically expensive. The brain was investing resources into recording, analyzing, and feeling everything.

As adults, unless we intervene, perception becomes automatic. Days blur. Wonder withers not because the world becomes less wondrous, but because our brain stops bothering to notice.

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How to Reignite Wonder (Neurobiologically Speaking)

The capacity for wonder is not lost. It’s dormant, resting beneath layers of neural habit. To reawaken it, we must coax the brain back into a state of active sensing:

• Reintroduce novelty, even in small doses. Take a different route home. Read a genre you’ve never explored. The dopaminergic system responds most strongly to unpredictability.

• Practice sensory immersion. The insula, the region responsible for interoception and bodily awareness, becomes more active when we consciously tune into physical sensations. This practice, which is foundational to mindfulness, increases the brain’s ability to register fine-grained sensory input from inside the body.

• Cultivate beginner’s mind. In Zen Buddhism, shoshin refers to maintaining an attitude of openness and eagerness, even when studying at an advanced level. Neurobiologically, this means resisting the brain’s tendency to collapse the unfamiliar into the familiar. (If you’re interested, you can explore this piece on Psyche for a psychological and contemporary exploration of beginner’s mind, or this article on Lion’s Roar for a perspective rooted more deeply in Zen Buddhist tradition).

• Interrupt cognitive autopilot. When attentional networks are re-engaged - by consciously shifting focus or reframing experience - activity increases in regions like the prefrontal cortex and insula. This enhances sensory processing and salience, which can make life feel more vivid.

• Allow boredom. When accepted rather than avoided, boredom catalyzes creativity, self-reflection, and goal-directed behavior. Boredom is not the enemy of wonder; it is the empty space into which wonder can flow.

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The Return to Presence (and Why It Matters)

Presence is a rare and radical act in a world engineered for distraction.

It asks us to resist the constant pull to elsewhere - to the future, to the past, to the endless flickering of notifications and noise. And in a nervous system conditioned by urgency, it can feel almost impossible.

Let this be a reminder that presence is not beyond us. It is a natural neurological state, wired into the very architecture of our brains.

When our salience network (which detects importance), executive control network (which directs attention), and default mode network (which constructs our sense of self) come into balance - not competing, but harmonizing - consciousness becomes vivid, textured, and alive.

The world was never less extraordinary (though, as some of you very astutely pointed out, the rise of modernity has stripped away many of the colors, textures, and sights that once filled our childhoods). Still, the deeper truth remains - we’ve stopped inhabiting the world with the fullness of our nervous systems.

Maybe just knowing this - knowing that presence is not lost to you, that it remains a possibility within reach, in every moment - can offer a small breath of softness and a little bit stillness.

i hope this post gave you something to sit with. if it resonated, your thoughts, feelings, and experiences are fully welcome here (in the comments, community chat, or message me!) <3

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References

1. Chirico, A., & Yaden, D. B. (2018). Awe: A self-transcendent and sometimes transformative emotion. In The function of emotions (pp. 221–233). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77619-4_15

   recent research on the emotional experience of awe.

2. Dietrich, A. (2004). Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying the experience of flow. Consciousness and Cognition, 13(4), 746–761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2004.07.002

   on transient hypofrontality (essential for experiences of flow).

3. Kidd, C., & Hayden, B. Y. (2015). The psychology and neuroscience of curiosity. Neuron, 88(3), 449–460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.010

   recent research on curiosity’s role in learning and decision-making.

4. Gruber, M. J., Gelman, B. D., & Ranganath, C. (2014). States of curiosity modulate hippocampus-dependent learning via the dopaminergic circuit. Neuron, 84(2), 486–496. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2014.08.060

   how curiosity enhances memory encoding.

5. Kiefer, M., & Pulvermüller, F. (2012). Conceptual representations in mind and brain: Theoretical developments, current evidence and future directions. Cortex, 48(7), 805–825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2011.04.006

   how concepts are represented in the brain.

6. Friston, K. (2010). The free-energy principle: A unified brain theory? Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 11(2), 127–138. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2787

   how the brain uses schemas to minimize surprise.

7. Brod, G., Lindenberger, U., & Shing, Y. L. (2017). Neural activation patterns during retrieval of schema-related memories: Differences and commonalities between children and adults. Developmental Science, 20(6), e12475. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12475

   how schemas shape memory retrieval over time.

8. Schultz, W. (2016). Dopamine reward prediction-error signalling: A two-component response. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 17(3), 183–195. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn.2015.26

   how dopamine and the brain’s reward system respond to novel stimuli.

9. Gibson, J. (2019). Mindfulness, interoception, and the body: A contemporary perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 2012. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02012

   many benefits attributed to mindfulness may actually be linked to interoception.

10. Brefczynski-Lewis, J. A., Lutz, A., Schaefer, H. S., Levinson, D. B., & Davidson, R. J. (2007). Neural correlates of attentional expertise in long-term meditation practitioners. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(27), 11483–11488. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0606552104

    meditation strengthens brain networks involved in sustained attention.

11. Mann, S., & Cadman, R. (2014). Does being bored make us more creative? Creativity Research Journal, 26(2), 165–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2014.901073

    engaging in boring activities can enhance creativity.